


Revealed by Mirrored Eyes

by AerisLei



Series: [Not] Your Sacrifice [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Canon Typical Violence, Depression, Kidnapping, Multi, Questionable Choices, Recovery, Ruby is Qrow's daughter, references to alcoholism, someone is losing a limb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 39,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21624382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerisLei/pseuds/AerisLei
Summary: Team RWBY has arrived in Atlas, but their enemies are not far behind, and before long they will learn that there are many secrets and dangers lurking within the Solitas’ icy tundra. Soon after they arrive, murders begin happening all over Mantle, and also in smaller settlements on the continent. Tracking the cause for these deaths becomes a priority even as they work to restore global communications with General Ironwood, but in their search for answers, Salem's minions send shockwaves through the people.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen & Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen & Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose & JNR, Ruby Rose & Summer Rose, Ruby Rose & Taiyang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long, past Qrow Branwen /Summer rose
Series: [Not] Your Sacrifice [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/823398
Comments: 30
Kudos: 95





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, a few notes before we start. Technically there are spoilers for the first four episodes of Volume 7, though my version of the events is somewhat different. And, of course, we’re going to veer into our own territory very quickly. If you aren’t caught up and don’t want to be spoiled you’ll want to wait to start this one. Heh. Second, Ozpin did not die in this AU, therefore Oscar does not exist as a character in the group. Because of that RWBYJNRQ do not know of Salem’s back story. Keep this in mind as we go forward. Everything else is effectively the same, regarding what happened in the last few volumes. 
> 
> The scenes from Fractured Memoires (and The Rose and the Tower) are both canon to this story, just historically. They are not required to understand this fic, but they may offer some fun insight into some character interactions and relationships.

“Hello, Ozma.” There was a pause. “Or… it’s Ozpin these days, right?”

Brown eyes sought the source of the voice, though he knew who the speaker was even before his gaze found her. Salem stood in all her glory across the room from him. Her hands were tucked into the long sleeves of the dress she wore.

She was beautiful, some part of his mind could acknowledge, even in her darkness.

His glasses were gone, but he could see well enough without them for this. “Salem.” It was not a greeting, exactly. Mostly nothing more than an acknowledgment.

What was he supposed to say, all these years later? What was he supposed to _do?_ For generations, he had led resistances against Salem and her minions, and her Grimm. For generations he'd fought with her, had fought a losing war. And here he was, trapped within what could only be her base of operations these days. The last thing he remembered before waking up here was his fight with Cinder, the new Fall Maiden. What had become of Beacon? Of his students?

"That's all you have to say?" Salem sounded almost amused as she watched him, _something_ glittering in her gaze.

"What do you want me to say?" Ozpin questioned, sounding _drained_. What could he say? He was alive, but he couldn't help anymore. He had to hope that his allies could bear the torch alone for however long it took for him to finally die in this darkness.

"Your precious school is gone. And the tower with it." Salem gloated, her eyes still glittering. "Headmaster Lionheart has been... most helpful in these developments."

The knowledge of the traitor could only hurt him, Salem knew. That must have been why she told him. Yet another betrayal in a long, long chain of them. And yet, he couldn't warn the others not to trust Lionheart. Not unless she killed him quickly and he found himself in his new form _immediately_. It was always hard to say what would happen when he first reincarnated. He never knew who the next one would be, where they would be or how old they might be - how well trained their body might be. Starting from zero was always a harrowing prospect, there were so many unknown factors.

And Salem was always on his heels. Perhaps it was inevitable that one day he would end up here in her dungeon.

"It didn't have to be this way, Ozma."

There was an almost-gentleness to her tone that he wished he could believe. But he couldn't, he knew what her idea of a compromise had been all those years ago. "Yes, it did, Salem." His voice was grim. "When you chose to turn away from the gods, there was no other way it could be."

For a moment, he thought she might strike him, but instead, despite the rage in her gaze she merely turned on her heel and left him alone, closing the door behind her. Ozpin's gaze slowly moved around the cell then, curious about his surroundings and mindful of anything he might be able to use.

One side of it was barred, the other three walls were solid stone with occasional pieces of purple dust embedded in them. There was no way out that he could see, except for the door that Salem had opened and closed without ever actually placing a hand on it. There was likely _some_ magic to it, but combating her magic with the small amount left within him was... unwise.

No, Ozpin realized, he was completely at her mercy. And he had learned long ago that Salem didn't really have any mercy to give. What she would _do_ with him wasn't clear yet. Perhaps she would just leave him to rot in this cell.

How long had he been here already? There was no way to know for certain, and no way to get the answer without _asking_ someone directly. It didn't matter that much.

It didn't matter enough for him to _ask_.

* * *

There was someone in one of the cells on the other side of him. Ozpin didn't know who that person was, exactly. Salem called them 'Ivory' and the inhabitant never spoke. But Salem spoke to _them_ often. He wondered more than once if these words to Ivory were an attempt to incite him. At one point, Ozpin had thought she was talking to _herself,_ but eventually, he had noticed movement and noise from that cell, even when Salem was not around.

There was someone there, but they wouldn't respond to him, if he tried to speak, either. Who else could Salem be keeping as a prisoner here, and why? The puzzle made him curious.

Tyrian had been sent to find the silver-eyed girl, Ozpin's heart sank as he realized this was _probably_ Ruby. He'd never come into direct conflict with this Tyrian, but none of Salem's closest pawns were to be trifled with. He could only hope that she turned out to be okay. The order had been to bring Ruby back _alive_ and in many ways that worried him more than an execution order. Ozpin couldn't say why, exactly, except there, was nothing Salem could want with Ruby that would be _good_ for the girl.

Though it did make him wonder even more what had happened at Beacon following his downfall. Had Ruby awakened her power? She must have if Salem knew about her. The fact didn't sit well with him.

Watts was in Haven with Lionheart. Watts. The name was familiar, but he couldn't _quite_ pull out why. Atlas came to mind, but there were no specific details that he could recall. Something Ironwood had said, perhaps? Ironwood had withdrawn into Atlas and was imposing an embargo on dust export. Salem was _delighted_ \- Ozpin was concerned. Ironwood was certainly still working under his own power, and not yielding to her, but his actions...

This could be bad.

Ozpin just didn't know how bad yet. Then again, wasn't that always the question? How bad was it, and what was Salem planning _this_ time. Ozpin rarely had the right answers it would seem. But Salem... she'd gotten what she wanted. Communication was broken between the four nations, Atlas was returning to its isolationist practices. _Lionheart_ had turned on him.

* * *

He didn't know how much time had passed. He _did_ know Salem was very angry about _something_. Some time ago, he had felt the very foundations of this place trembling with her rage, had heard a furious snarl from one of the inner halls. Ozpin didn't know what had happened, but he knew Salem well enough to know _something_ had not gone the way she wanted it to. An attack at Haven academy had been planned, so logic indicated it was likely related to her rage.

He wondered if she'd been thwarted in some way. He'd heard nothing more of Ruby's capture, and he hoped that meant Tyrian too had failed his mission.

Ozpin heard Salem coming before he saw her. She paused before his cell, and for a moment he felt her gaze cut through him and wondered if she had changed her mind and decided to take her rage out on _him_. Despite her glares, Salem eventually continued down the path and paused before the cell on the other side.

"Come, Ivory." She said in a tightly controlled voice. "You won't disappoint me, will you?"

It was a vain question, as whoever this 'Ivory' was never spoke.

"Of course you won't. I have some new pets to show you."

Ozpin dared to look out of his cell to try and spot the other prisoner. Beside Salem stood a small figure wearing a floor-length white dress with a hooded cowl. The figure was turned away from him, and so all he could see was the feminine shape within the clothing. He had no idea who it might be.

Salem led the figure further down the path, so they never crossed in front of his cell.

Were they were willingly or had they merely been converted to her purposes after who knew how long of confinement and torture? Were they even human, or some kind of new Grimm he'd never seen before? That happened from time to time, where she created new Grimm to release upon the world and left him to struggle with keeping up and teaching huntsman about these new creatures. Still, the thought of a new Grimm that was _that_ humanoid... it didn't bear thinking about.

The mute fellow prisoner would remain a point of confusion for him, he supposed.

* * *

"Salem." She was smiling at him, however fractionally. There was malice in that expression more than joy, he knew. _How do I destroy Salem? You can't._ The words haunted him.

"Watts and Tyrian have successfully made it into Atlas despite the closed borders." _She_ was practically glowing, but of course, she was. "It seems your dear fellow headmaster hasn't learned anything after all." There was a pause. "Tell me, how do you think he will fare without you to point out he's making a mistake, hm?"

Ozpin said nothing. There was nothing to say, as usual. James had never really listened to him at the best of times, and after the disaster of Beacon, that was likely to have only intensified. Even if the Atlesian troops present _had_ made things worse. That wasn't _really_ James' fault, and probably had something to do with this 'Watts' character that Ozpin still couldn't recall anything about. That was going to frustrate him since it felt quite important even though he couldn't remember. Well, it was a little too late to worry about it now.

He shrugged. "I trust them." Was all he said as if it were that simple.

"Is that right? Is that why they don't know the truth, Ozma?"

He flinched just slightly. She _knew_ this incarnation's name but insisted on using his first name. But it did drive home the point, didn't it? He said nothing, looking down and away from Salem's form. There wasn't much to say to that. It was true, he hadn't told anyone of his past. It was personal, and it didn't have any bearing on their fight. They didn't need to know that he'd been _in love_ with her once.

_How do I destroy Salem? You can't._

Salem knew that as well as he did. That was _probably_ what she meant, more than their past together. By not telling them, he was lying to them. By not telling them, he was having them engage in a war they couldn't win. But something didn't have to be destroyed to be neutralized. He just... hadn't managed to do that, yet. There had to be a way. He knew that. He just didn't know how yet. And Salem couldn't be left unchecked. She couldn't be allowed to win.

That was why he still fought all this time later. That was why he was still fighting.

Salem couldn't win. Nothing would survive if she did. At least while he fought back, life could continue, could flourish. He'd made many mistakes, but continuing to fight against Salem, he refused to believe that that was one of them. Refused, because if fighting against Salem was a mistake, then there was nothing he could do, nothing _humanity_ could do, in order to meet that which was set upon his shoulders by the Two Brothers.

Most of the time he hated them for doing this to him. This was truly the way they had decided to punish him for loving Salem. He'd raged against the unfairness of it for a long time. _He_ hadn't made her like this. He had only loved her, he had only rescued her from her confinement. They had done good things while he was alive. And then he'd died, and it had a negative effect on her. He'd died, and she'd essentially lost her mind.

The gods insisted _he_ fix this. But her crimes were not his crimes, and it was... well. It was too late to rage against it. He'd agreed to try and help when the god of light had sent him back. He'd been complacent, he'd thought he could change her. Salem was unmutable. Salem was... darkness embodied, and some part of him didn't understand what had gone wrong.

In the end, it didn't matter.

Salem was still gazing at him as if expecting him to defend himself, but Ozpin said nothing, keeping his gaze on one of the crystals embedded in the wall.

Eventually, she laughed, softly, as if to herself. "That's what I thought. You don't trust them. You can't because you know the truth. You knew humanity can't be trusted, you know they turn on each other too readily." There was a pause, and then, "And you know, if they knew the truth, they'd turn on you, too. Isn't that right?"

He still said nothing, but perhaps his silence was answer enough.

It _was_ true. If they knew the truth, most likely, they would turn on him. If they knew the truth, who knew what they would decide to do.

Ozpin had been betrayed many, many times by people he'd wanted to trust.

Salem and Lionheart were only two of many betrayals, in the end.


	2. Chapter 1

“I don’t like this, something isn’t right,” Weiss said, her gaze drifting to the ships in the sky.

The risks of landing in the bay were too high, they wouldn’t be recognized, they might be terminated on sight. Nevermind they didn’t know exactly where this ship was _supposed_ to land.

The radio continued to call out commands for them to land immediately. 

“We should find Winter. She’ll straighten this out.”

“I’m not sure we should even be talking to _Ironwood_ at this point,” Qrow retorted, eyeing a large protection of the aforementioned Winter Schnee discussing the importance of cooperating with the miliary presence. “Not until we know exactly what is going on around here.”

“I know someone who can help us with both,” Maria declared and she began to direct their course elsewhere. For the moment, they had little choice but to trust her since their other options seemed thoroughly out of reach. Getting into Atlas proper was going to be difficult, Mantle would be hard enough. 

“What is he thinking?” Ruby wondered aloud as they began to approach the ground. 

“I wish I knew.” Was Qrow’s immediate response.

“His goal is to protect Atlas, I’m sure of it, but I… This isn’t…” Weiss frowned. 

No, this wasn’t the best option or the safest choice for the people. Ruby hadn’t thought Ironwood was particularly _kind_ when she met him in Beacon, but this wasn’t something she would have anticipated either. 

The Fall of Beacon had been hard on them all, and perhaps this was the clearest representation of that so far. She felt a stab of hatred in the direction of the now-dead Headmaster Lionheart. Ruby would never put words to it, but she couldn’t help but feel angry. If he hadn’t betrayed Ozpin maybe some of these terrible things wouldn’t have happened.

It was too late to wonder about that now. It was all said and done, Beacon had fallen, their dead were long buried, and all they could do was keep moving forward.

“One of the best and brightest minds in Atlas,”

“Down here in Mantle?” Qrow sounded just slightly skeptical. 

“He likes to help out wherever he can.”

They tried to keep their heads down as they walked away from the place they’d left the ship. Maria had taken the lead, heading for where they could hope to find this friend of hers. 

Ruby carefully allowed her attention to wander around the area. There were soldiers scattered throughout the area, moving in small groups. No, not soldiers, more of the AI variety, rather than humans or faunus. She didn’t know how she felt about that exactly, her mind going back to the ones in Beacon turning on them suddenly.

Ruby shook her head.

Maria was talking about Atlas being built as the ideal of a _bright future_ , while Blake countered that the whole city seemed _terrible_.

There were a few drunks that took offense to the words. Insisting that the city _was_ great and if they didn’t like it they should leave. It wasn’t until they began to insult Blake as a faunus that Ruby stepped forward.

Blake held a hand out. “We can’t cause a scene.” She whispered. 

Ruby frowned darkly, but Blake _was_ right. They couldn’t afford to cause a scene. They couldn’t risk drawing attention to themselves before they were ready to handle it.

Unfortunately despite Blake’s words, Weiss generated a glyph beneath the drunk and threw the man into a nearby dumpster.

“It was worth it.” She said flatly.

Ruby frowned. Maybe so, certainly Ruby had felt the same. But Blake had asked them not to cause a scene, and it was a _bad_ idea. They could easily be arrested out here.

The group scrambled off, narrowly escaping before mechanical soldiers approached and realized what they had done. 

Maria led them into a small, run-down office where a man sat behind a desk. The exchange started off a little rocky, but the man behind the desk - introduced as Pietro - quickly remembered Maria and took to their presence with surprising grace. 

“We were wondering if you could help us. We came to Atlas hoping to talk to General Ironwood, but um…” Yang began.

“What exactly has been happening here?” From Blake. 

“The Fall of Beacon affected everyone. I can’t say what James saw there, but it changed him. He’s-”

"He's scared." Qrow simplified.

"Paranoid is the word I would use.” Pietro corrected. The old man went on for a bit about how their technology had been turned on them, and how they feared it _could_ be one of their own who had done it.

“Maybe Atlas isn’t as safe as we thought,” Ren said quietly. Ruby felt inclined to agree with the boy, though she didn’t immediately voice that fact.

“How does the council feel about all of this? Or Winter Schnee? Do you know anything about her?” Weiss cut in.

Ruby frowned, uncertain that it was a good idea to ask so directly. The damage was already done though, and the glyph wielder would often do as she _would_ whether the rest of them liked it or not.

“Well, the council’s so scared, they’ll agree to whatever he wants. Though, some representatives from Mantle- Wait, you’re… You’re Weiss Schnee!” Pietro interrupted his own train of thought with the realization as he focused on the white-haired girl.

Weiss stepped back, looking nervous at being recognized so easily. 

“Wait,” Yang began, reaching out her cybernetic hand in sort of a stopping gesture, “What were you going to say about Mantle?”

It was too late it seemed, as the man’s attention turned to her arm. “You- you painted it.”

“Er…what?” Yang pulled her hand back, her expression confused. 

“Is everything okay?” Ruby asked slowly, drawing the man’s attention to her finally.

“You’re team RWBY.”

The four girls exchanged confused, but nervous glances. “You know us?” Ruby probed uncertainly.

“Oh my girl, I most certainly do!” That was bad, really bad. They’d been hoping to slide under the radar. “And I feel like such a dunce for not recognizing you sooner. My daughter’s told me so much about you.”

“Your…daughter?” Ruby asked slowly, her attention resting on the pink bow at his neck for a second, before flicking back up to the man’s face.

But before Pietro could say anything more to explain the statement, outside sirens began as did the screams of civilians.

“That sounds like trouble,” Jaune said.

“Wait-” Pietro began, but the students had already begun to step out of the office and back into the streets.

“The city defenses don’t seem to be doing any good.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me,” Nora said, glancing towards Ren.

“It’s the unrest,” Ruby said, a calm expression taking over. “We have to help.”

There seemed to be agreement, so as the Sabyrs came, they fought. They broke up and spread across the area around the office quickly.

They came quickly and there was no real-time for coordination. On the bright side, they’d all been fighting together for long enough that they didn’t _need_ to talk through it. Weiss levitated several Sabyrs, and Ren darted forward to destroy them. Ruby handled a few of them on her own. Somewhere beyond where she fought was Qrow. 

It came out of nowhere, the sudden burst of green light that destroyed the remaining Grimm. The teams half froze, watching in wonder as the flying figure finished destroying their enemies.

Ruby felt like she’d been kicked in the guts as her attention focused on the feminine figure in the sky. The hair was wrong, being much, much longer. And yet…

“Penny?” She whispered as the figure landed. The robot didn’t seem to hear her at first.

“That’s my darling.” Pietro seemed pleased, and the pieces fell together. His daughter. Penny. He’d created her. “Why don’t you say hello to your friends.”

It was only then that Penny _really_ looked at them. Ruby could almost pinpoint the exact moment when Penny recognized her. 

Penny recognized her but… Ruby’s mind immediately snapped back to Amity Arena and Pyrrha ripping her into pieces. She didn’t have time to react before Penny gave her typical greeting and rocketed into her. Ruby didn’t mind, though it _did_ hurt a little. She hugged the robot tightly. 

“Penny! I thought you were-” She couldn’t bring herself to _say_ it Ruby found.

“Dead?” Pietro finished and Ruby winced at the bluntness. “We were able to recover her core when Amity Arena made its way back to Atlas,”

“I’m as good as new! Better even! And now I’m the official protector of the city!” Penny began, looking _quite_ pleased with herself. Ruby thought she deserved it. “I can’t want to talk about-” Penny was cut off by the sound of another alert. “Unfortunately, it will have to wait!” And away she went.

Ruby still felt like someone had kicked her _very_ hard, but said nothing, as she tried to grasp the situation entirely. 

“Why don’t we go back to my office,” Pietro began and they turned to follow him. For a moment everything seemed to slow down around them. Before they had any time to react to the strangeness of it all, each of them found themselves struck by some kind of bindings.

“Hey, I’m a licensed huntsman. Just helped save everyone-” Qrow protested as he was the last to fall.

“Now what is the meaning of this,” Pietro began. 

“We were answering a report of an unauthorized airship making an unauthorized landing, followed by unauthorized weapon usage by unlicensed individuals.”

“Can’t we talk this out.”

“They can talk everything out as soon as they get to Atlas.” The brown-haired man said flatly. 

Their weapons were taken, as was the relic. 

Only a few moments later they found themselves being loaded into the back of a transport ship. 

“This is.. a little closer to what I was expecting.” Qrow sounded a bit put upon, but Ruby wasn't surprised. She said nothing, her attention focused forward for the moment. Nora seemed to be trying to chew through her bonds, but the rest of them remained composed where they sat.

“Who were those guys anyway? That happened so fast.”

“Those were the Ace Operatives.” Weiss supplied quietly. “Atlas’ most elite huntsman.”

“You guys had a run-in with the Ace Ops? Ironwood must have a real bone to pick with you.”

Ruby frowned. “Did they get you too?”

“Me? No.” He went on for quite some time about Robyn and her bid for a seat on the council and how Atlas was trying to _silence_ him. The ship’s pilot pointed out that the man had thrown a rock at the ship.

Ruby said nothing, keeping her head down for the moment. They needed a plan, but now that they were in custody, it was difficult to come up with anything. They’d just have to _hope_ that whoever they ended up speaking to would tell Ironwood.

Or that _Penny_ would tell Ironwood. 

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the police station and were taken into a holding cell. A different one than the man they’d been transported with. 

“So what now?” Blake murmured, her gaze flicking towards the guards and then back towards the others.

“We wait,” Ruby said it simply. “There’s not much else we _can_ do.” 

“Ruby’s right.” Qrow agreed calmly. “They’ve taken our names and our weapons. All we can do is wait for the information to make it’s way up the chain and hope it gets straightened out.”

He _should_ have broken from the group and gone straight to Ironwood. He should have flown up into Atlas himself. It would have been faster, and Ironwood would have been able to fix this if he’d just listen for a moment. But he’d been so caught up in his concern about what was happening in Mantle that he just… _hadn’t_. 

He hadn’t wanted to leave them, and now he couldn’t.

“It’ll work out. It has to.” Ruby sounded optimistic, but Qrow could tell just by watching her that she didn’t feel quite as confident as she sounded. 

* * *

James had been amid a council meeting while his Operatives were taking care of the situation down in Mantle. An unauthorized ship, landing without permission, and then-unknown individuals using weapons in the streets. Granted, the reports indicated they _had_ only fought the Grimm and that they’d come into contact with Penny without conflict.

“Penny, who did you meet in Mantle during the attack?” Ironwood asked without looking at the girl standing to his right. Winter was somewhere to his left.

Even as he asked, Ironwood took the time to pull up the surveillance footage now that he was free of the meeting. 

“Oh! I met Ruby and her team down in Mantle. They were fighting the Grimm when I came.” Penny continued to speak for several moments longer, though Ironwood only caught about half of it.

Team RWBY? The footage began to play before he had a chance to probe further, but it was just as well since it answered all of his questions in a matter of seconds. Not just team RWBY, but the remainder of JNPR and also Qrow. 

_Qrow_. As frustrated as he got at the man, James felt an immediate stab of relief. Qrow was here, Qrow could help him. 

“Clover,”

“Sir?”

“I need you to arrange for the individuals you apprehended in Mantle to be brought to the academy.”

If the other man was confused by the request, he didn’t show it, nor did he ask any questions. “Of course. I’ll take care of that now.” And Clover left. 

The others were practically _children_ but… somehow James suspected that Qrow had filled them in already. He’d find out soon enough. Perhaps they’d be of use despite their inexperience.

Then again, remembering the letter that Qrow _had_ sent him, James had to wonder if they were so inexperienced after all. 

* * *

“Where are you taking us now?” Ruby asked as they were loaded into the back of yet _another_ transport, this time with their hands unbound. Their escort was the man who’d been leading the team who brought them down, Ruby recognized him.

“We got off on the wrong foot. I’m Clover Ebi.”

“I’m Ruby Rose, but that didn’t answer my question.”

Clover let out a short laugh. “Persistent. The General wishes to see you all directly. I didn’t ask any questions.”

Ruby glanced at Qrow, but couldn’t make heads or tails of his expression. She sat down on the bench in the rear of the transport. 

“This is either really good or really bad,” Yang mumbled.

“It’s going to be fine,” Ruby repeated firmly, calmly. She had to believe that. _They_ had to believe that. 

“I wish I had your optimism,” Weiss grumbled. Ruby turned her attention out the window then, allowing herself to take in the sights of the sky, and her first view of Atlas Academy. 


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chat with Ironwood!

From the airship, they had been ushered into an office that clearly belonged to Ironwood. It was a large open space. They stood in a small cluster, Ruby beside Qrow with Yang and Blake slightly behind her, and Weiss a little behind them. Jaune, Ren, and Nora stood on the other side. 

“It really is good to see you all.”

“Our reception didn’t… exactly convey that.” Yang said, tone a little dark.

“I do apologize for the miscommunication. There were concerns after the unauthorized landing that the ship may have been stolen.”

Ruby sputtered for a moment before admitting that yes, the ship _had_ been stolen. 

Ironwood looked _surprised._ Winter looked _enraged._

“What were you thinking?” She demanded, attention locked on Weiss. “You could have been shot down! You could have-” 

Weiss hugged her sister. “I’m sorry I worried you.” She murmured. “But we did what we had to do.” 

Winter began to pull away, sighing. “I…suppose I understand.” Her attention turned to Qrow then. “But you, Qrow Branwen, I can’t believe you allowed this to happen!”

Qrow let out a sound that was _almost_ a laugh but didn’t quite make it there, running his fingers through his hair awkwardly. “You try stopping these kids when they put their mind to something.” He said in a serious tone. “Trust me when I say I opposed the idea.”

“He did,” Ruby admitted calmly. She didn't look particularly apologetic for what they had done.

“You’ll have to tell me more about this,” Ironwood said mildly, sounding almost amused. 

“There’s a lot we should tell you. But some of it is… confidential.” Qrow said, barely glancing towards Winter.

“Is it about the relics?” Penny asked.

“Or the winter maiden?” Winter continued.

“You…told them,” Qrow said it slowly, understanding dawning.

Ironwood nodded. “Yes, I did. And the Ace Ops too. With Ozpin gone I needed… people I could trust. You aren’t the only one who’s been busy since the Fall on a new plan.” There was a pause. “So lets do this. You and your team give your reports, and then I will fill you in on the details of what’s happening here and what my plans are.”

Qrow wasn’t sure he was going to like what James had come up with. He glanced towards Ruby. “Report, Ruby. I’ll fill in anything you miss.”

“Er… Where… do you want me to start, General?” She asked after a moment. Qrow had taught her and Yang, all the way back at Signal, how to give a proper report and what sorts of details should be left out. But… there was a lot that they could report on that Ironwood didn’t know about.

“The beginning.”

 _Oh._ That was going to be quite a lengthy report, but Ruby obediently gave it, leaving out only a _few_ of the less important details and glossing over as much of their time in Argus as possible.

The General asked her only a few questions afterward, before doing as he had promised and explained his plans for Amity Arena, and then _eventually_ to tell the world about Salem.

There were more than a few exchanges over that decision, and it was clear that Qrow didn’t agree that it was the best option. Ruby sort of agreed, after all, the panic that telling the world about _Salem_ was going to cause… she could only imagine how nasty the Grimm attacks were going to get at that point. It didn’t sound like a good idea. 

“I need people I can trust,” Ironwood said finally, almost entreating. “The first step is to get Amity Coliseum ready for launch and get communications restored.” There was a pause. “If you’re all on board?”

Ruby took a deep breath, glancing to either side of her to take in the general expressions of her team, and of Jaune and his team. She released the breath, hardly realizing she’d begun to hold it. “Tell us how we can help.”

They’d come this far, after all. They couldn’t turn their backs on Atlas. Maybe from the inside, they could begin to help improve the situation or reason with Ironwood. In the meantime, if they could help, they should.

They were on the same side. They were all just doing their best against Salem.

* * *

Their weapons had been returned, and the relic had been, as well. Then, finally, the students filed out of the room, led by Penny for some kind of tour. Qrow stayed behind in the office as they left. Ruby paused for a heartbeat in the door, glancing back at him with a question in her eyes. He gestured slightly and she understood and left without a word.

Winter had gone as well, presumably to have a few words with her sister. It meant that James and Qrow were alone in the office. 

“Qrow.” There was a softness in James’ voice that wasn’t common. He could see some of the tension slide out of the other man’s form as he came around the desk. What Qrow wasn’t expecting was to be pulled into a hug. “I meant it when I said it was good to see you.”

Qrow rolled his eyes slightly, but awkwardly patted the other man’s back, returning the hug. “It’s good to see you too, James,” Qrow said, projecting some sincerity into his tone.

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about…”

Qrow shook his head. “No sign of Oz’s next incarnation. We’re… on our own for now.” The Long Memory was still attached to his belt. It hadn’t been recognized as a weapon by the Ace Ops. Not that Qrow would have tried to use it.

“I’m surprised you told them so much.”

“After Tyrian tried to take Ruby _alive_ I thought she needed to know what she was really up against,” Qrow said flatly. “By extension, the others deserved to know what really killed their friends. Besides, I couldn’t tell Ruby and not the others. Not when she’d end up telling them herself. It was better to control the information and let them digest it rather than risk them finding out at inopportune moments.”

James had _finally_ let him go and ultimately gestured for Qrow to take a seat. Qrow sank down almost gratefully.

“That makes sense.” He allowed. “Lionheart…”

“Betrayed us all. Likely _before_ the fall of Beacon.” Qrow confirmed, sounding tired. He began to raise his flask, narrowed his eyes slightly and then put it back where he’d grabbed it from. 

James raised an eyebrow slightly. “Need a refill?” James assumed that was the only reason Qrow would put it down without drinking.

“No.” The word came out in a tight tone. “Gonna try to get sober, actually.”

James looked surprised. “That must have been some fight in Argus.”

“It wasn’t the fight,” Qrow said, looking away. “It’s Ruby. I…” He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Just…” He set the flask down on James’ desk. “Maybe get rid of that for me. Or hold onto it. Whatever you prefer.”

“It won’t be easy on you…” 

“Nothing worth doing ever is, is it?”

“For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you.”

Qrow snorted. “Don’t be until I’ve managed it.”

“Just wanting to is an important step.”

Qrow was quiet after that, not sure what else to say. They’d hardly been friends before, but they _had_ worked together many times over the years at Ozpin’s behest. Maybe it wasn’t surprising that at the end, they were … more understanding of each other than they had seemed to be.

In Ozpin’s absence, all they could do was pick up the pieces left behind.

“Have you eaten?”

“No, none of us had.”

“Penny will take care of them. Let’s get _you_ something, and then a room, hm?”

Qrow didn’t protest... Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

* * *

Getting to select new outfits and design changes to their weapons was exciting, at least it was for Ruby. On the other hand, having Cresent Rose gone until the upgrades were complete left her feeling a little uncomfortable about the whole situation.

Still, they were safe in the Academy for the moment. They took the time they were stuck without weapons to revisit their hand to hand combat training, which Yang insisted they should all have at least a basic grasp of.

Ruby remembered watching Qrow punch Tyrian and privately wondered if their dad had insisted the same. Maybe she’d ask Qrow later. It’d be out of left field, but sometimes his answers were enlightening.

It was at least a good use of their time. Training together and ultimately conditioning themselves and staying in fighting condition. 

The upgrades weren’t supposed to take more than a few days, and they did spend a good bit of their time resting and recovering from their ordeals, of course.

They’d been through a lot since Haven, but they were all together again. They’d been through a lot in the last two years, really, if Ruby was honest with herself. She was seventeen now, and sometimes it felt like the world hadn’t slowed down since the night Ozpin invited her to Beacon in the first place.

At least they were together again. 

“Hey, Uncle Qrow.”

“Ruby.” He greeted with a small smile.

His eyes were clearer, and she couldn’t help but notice the flask wasn’t at his hip like it had been before. She didn’t ask, didn’t draw attention to it. Instead, she slipped closer to him and hugged him loosely around the waist before stepping back. 

“We’ve uh, been practicing hand to hand more.” She explained. 

“Firecracker put you up to it?” He asked knowingly.

Ruby giggled but nodded. “But after being disarmed a few times… she has a point.” 

“Yeah, that was Tai’s point too. They’re not wrong.”

Ruby shook her head. “We figured while everyone’s weapon is being upgraded we might as well.”

“At least your making the most of your downtime... But don’t forget to rest, too.”

“We have been.” Ruby defended. …Or they’d been _trying_. Ruby at least still wasn’t sleeping terribly well, but that was a her problem not a them problem. And so she kept that to herself. 

Qrow ruffled her hair lightly. “I like the new hair cut, petal.”

“Thanks.” She mumbled, ducking her head slightly. 

“How do you like Atlas so far?”

“It’s… nice.” Ruby said carefully. “Absolutely lovely. But…it feels strange.” Something about the air, the presence. General Ironwood had been nothing but cordial, and neither had the Ace Ops on their few meetings thus far. But there was something very tense about the air, and it was just…Ruby wasn’t really a fan.

“Atlas is like that. A bit stuffy.” He said with a laugh.

Something seemed to occur to Ruby then, and she frowned. “Is… the General going to separate us?”

“No, I’ll be working with you all and the Ace Ops at least for the most part. There are a few times here and there we’ll probably not be all one cluster, but…” He paused. “I’m not going to leave you loose in Atlas by yourself, if that was what you’re worried about.”

Ruby nodded slightly, accepting that answer and looking relieved. 


	4. Chapter 4

The tundra of Solitas was unforgiving, even _with_ new clothing and completely recovered Aura. They’d been broken into 3 teams, Qrow was with Clover; Jaune, Ren, and Nora were with two operatives named Elm and Vine. And Team rwby? They were with Marrow and Harriet. 

Their mission was simple, they were to clear out the dust mine that was here, as it had been identified as an appropriate launch site for the arena. There was a geist that had taken up residence in the mine, and it had killed some of those it fought against already. 

Ruby was reminded of the Geist that she and JNR had fought back at the edge of Mistral’s territory. She hadn’t _said_ that of course, but she could tell Jaune at least had been thinking the same thing.

“I’m just not used to the new hair yet.” Ruby heard her sister say. 

Blake looked instantly uncomfortable. “Is it… bad?”

“No, no!” Yang said quickly. “It’s good. Great even.”

The faunus operative said _something_ about babysitting them, and the smaller woman pointed out they babysat him all the time.

Ruby kept her head down for the moment as they approached the mine. There wasn’t a lot more chatter as they finally entered the space.

“Is there something wrong?” Yang asked, attention on Blake again.

“No I… Just realized where we are, that’s all.”

“This mine was closed for an explosion.”

“I remember that disaster,” Weiss spoke up. “Or at least, I remember how angry it made my father.” The heiress’ gaze dropped, and she frowned. “I wish there was more I could do to undo the hurt my family has caused the faunus. And… my complacency in it.”

“Society here is designed with Humans at the top and faunus at the bottom. Humans all benefit from it, and they get nothing for trying to change it.” Marrow spoke. “But, I didn’t come over here to try and solve systemic problems in society. We found a gap in the rubble and think one of you could fit through it. Preferably someone with a knack for seeing in the dark…” His attention rested on Blake.

“Oh, right of course.”

Blake followed Marrow towards the cave in they’d found. Ruby hoped everything was okay in the rest of the mine. 

“Do you see anything?” Marrow asked shortly after Blake had disappeared. “Is there any dust in the immediate area?”

“Some debris… mining cars. But there’s no dust.”

“Okay, good.”

“I’m coming ba-” Blake cut herself off with a short startled noise, and then there was a sound of gunfire. 

“Dammit.” Harriet hissed. “Blake move away. We’re going to blast through.” She didn’t wait for any kind of response before using her weapon to do just that.

Ruby could hear Harriet giving a report, presumably to Clover as they attempted to go after the Geist and found their way blocked by multiple centipede-like Grimm bursting out of the ground.

“That’s… disgusting.” Yang mumbled.

Ruby had to agree, but they still had to take care of the fight. They scattered in this part of the tunnel and for the first time, Ruby got to really _play with_ the changes to Crescent Rose. They were exactly as she had hoped, and the swiveling head allowed her to change directions more quickly in combat.

It didn’t take them long to destroy the centipede Grimm, until there was only one left. Ruby moved as if to attack it, but Harriet darted past her, destroying it in an instant.

“Woah, your semblance makes you super fast. Just like mine!”

“I’d say based on reaction times, I’m just a little faster.” There was a smirk playing on Harriet’s lips.

They continued forward through the mine.

“Clover said the Geist should be here…” It was Marrow, sounding just a little confused.

“Uhhh.” Ruby’s attention was drawn upward as the ceiling began to move. It didn’t take long for the Geist to hit the ground, but as it did so, Ruby had the realization that it had joined with some of the dust from the mine. 

“Be careful. This area is extremely active with dust energy. If it were to ignite we could ruin the launch site.”

“And vaporize us!” Marrow added, exasperated. “How is that always second with you?

“It joined with dust crystals? How are we-” Despite the fact that Ruby was still thinking aloud, the Ace Ops sprang into action.

The fight moved quickly, and team RWBY didn’t really have time to do much. They were joined shortly by Qrow and Clover, who made _quite_ a catch with a falling dust crystal. 

There was a short quip about ‘what would you do without me’ and then the fight continued. From there the Ace Ops made short work of the Geist, pulling it free from the rocks it had built it’s body from and destroying it.

All but one piece of dust was caught safely. Ruby heard someone call out for Harriet, but she was closer and she thought-

Ruby activated her semblance and shot towards it, catching the crystalized dust, but landing badly on her butt instead of remaining on her feet. … Well, at least it hadn’t exploded.

Harriet was looking at her strangely. “I thought you said your semblance is like mine?” 

“I- it is?” Ruby said carefully, unsure what to make of the fact that Harriet didn’t seem to agree. Both of their semblances made them fast.

“I’ve seen other speed semblances before, but that… that’s something different. I think there’s more going on there than you think.”

“Er.” Ruby frowned slightly as she finished picking herself up and set the recovered dust down safely. It left her with a lot to think about, for certain. But for now the girl put it out of her mind. 

“Alpha squad to mission control. The mine is secure and ready for the next phase of the operation.”

After a brief moment of celebration, the team headed out of the mine and back into the sunlight. It hadn’t taken them long, but the Ace Ops had done _most_ of the work. 

* * *

Receiving their licenses felt very… _ceremonial_ at this point, like it didn’t mean much of anything. It was what they all had been working towards, and it was Ruby’s life dream practically, but even she didn’t really feel like it _meant_ anything. Not after everything they had already been through.

Still, it made sense. Having their licenses meant that Ironwood didn’t have to bend the rules to have them help him, and it meant that he didn’t necessarilyhave to send the Ace Ops with them every time, either.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind, petal.”

“Kinda.” She admitted, almost shyly. “Mostly I just don’t feel like I know that much more than I did back at Beacon and now…” It had been a year, since then. A year she’d trained at Beacon, and a year she’d traveled from Patch to Mistral and now to Atlas. 

“That feeling.. never really goes away,” Qrow said with a short laugh. “Your mom, she’d be proud of you.”

Qrow didn’t mention Summer often, so having him do so without prompting almost made Ruby’s heart constrict, and she did look at him in surprise. 

“I… hope so,” Ruby said quietly, not looking away from him. 

“She would be. You and Yang both, I’m sure of it.”

“…Was her last mission one of Ozpin’s too?”

“I’m not really sure,” Qrow admitted. “He seemed as in the dark as the rest of us when she didn’t come home. But it’s hard to say if that’s because he didn’t know about the mission or because he didn’t expect it to be dangerous.”

Yang joined them in the stands then, flopping down on the row below them and turning so she could see them. “Aren’t you two going to join the party?”

“Oh, uh… Soon yeah.” Ruby said. “We were just… talking.” 

“I was telling Ruby how proud Summer would be of you both. I was _going_ to come find you and tell you the same, but you found us instead.” He smirked slightly, somehow managing to keep a light mood on the topic.

“I hope she would be,” Yang said seriously. 

“She would, I’m sure of it,” Qrow said firmly, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “You’ve both grown so much and come so far.”

“It’s not like you to be so sentimental.”

“This is an important moment,” Qrow said evenly. “Even if it doesn’t feel like it. You should enjoy it.”

Yang and Ruby returned to the party, with Qrow following a bit after. Ruby couldn’t help but wish at that moment that she knew _more_ about her mother. She didn’t ask though, probing him didn’t seem to be fair. 

He’d already said more than he usually would have about her, and Ruby didn’t want to upset him. Still, the half-answer only made her want to know more about what had happened to Summer. 

The party ended with thoughts towards their next plans. While they were preparing the Arena for launch, the newly licensed Huntsman and huntresses were going to work on a few things down in Mantle to try and help the civilians who were struggling under the embargo. 

The Ace Ops showed them how to use the mission board, which was now an app built into their new Scrolls. 

After that, the group was left to their own devices for a little longer. It ended in them sitting together in the stands. None of them talked about what happened here in this Arena. None of them talked about Beacon. At least, not at first. 

Really, there wasn’t much chatter at all. Instead, there was silent solidarity between all of them.

Ruby _still_ hadn’t really ever talked about what happened at the top of the tower that night. She hadn’t shared what she saw or how things had gone. All of them only had pieces of that night, only had the aftermath of it. 

Now didn’t seem like a good time to start sharing though, to be honest about it, so Ruby kept the words inside. 

“It feels really strange being here,” Weiss mumbled. “After everything.”

Ruby made a quiet noise of affirmation. Penny had gone outside to rejoin the general finally, and Qrow had gone too. Ruby had been avoiding looking at the center of the space, had avoided _really_ thinking about what had happened here in the Arena.

It was an uncomfortable place to hold a party, that was for sure. 

“It’s good that the Arena will do some good though, after being the center of what began the downfall of everything, right?” It was Jaune, trying to be optimistic.

Ruby nodded slightly. “Yeah, that’s true. Restoring communications across the world is… it’s good that we’ll finally be able to do that, after a year of silence.”

“Oh, General Ironwood.” Ruby spotted him first. “I uh, I wanted to apologize. I know we weren’t as excited as you had hoped. And I… wanted to thank you. We’re honored, truly.” There was a murmur of agreement from the others gathered around her, and Ruby was glad for their support since she hadn’t really explained what she was going to say or… well. She hadn’t really planned to say it at all.

Ruby still wasn’t sure about everything he had planned, but General Ironwood did seem to be doing his best by them, and she could appreciate that, and the fact that he had granted them their licenses despite the fact that they hadn’t actually finished their schooling. 

But perhaps they truly had come too far to go back to trying to learn in a classroom environment. After traversing Mistral and working together for all these months, after the fall of Beacon and the fight at Haven academy…

“It’s quite alright, Miss Rose. I should have expected that the occasion wouldn’t be a typical graduation ceremony. You all are hardly typical students.” 

No, Ruby supposed most at least made it to graduation without the knowledge that was resting on their shoulders. 


	5. Chapter 5

With the communication systems down, Ivory’s attacks could not easily be tracked across the Kingdoms. It meant that as she devastated villages across Vale and Mistral both it was difficult for anyone to know until _well_ after the fact. Tying the attacks together was even harder. 

But the fear they generated, that wasn’t lessened. Small villages that lost contact with each other weren’t taking the situation well at all, and the Grimm were doing half of Ivory’s work for her. 

That was the point though, in the end. Her job was to incite chaos so that the villages couldn’t band together properly in the wake of communications being down. Her job was to make sure the Grimm had _plenty_ to feast on while the Lady set in motion the next stages of the plan. 

What that plan was hardly mattered to Ivory, just as long as the Goddess was happy with her. 

Rumors of a figure dressed in white were spreading slowly through the villages. It was being said that if the figure was seen near a village, it would meet its demise within the next few nights. No one ever caught the figure, and some who tried insisted that she had burst into flower petals upon their approach.

Ivory found all of this quite amusing. At any rate, she had one last attack before she was supposed to return to the Goddess’ side for the moment, and Ivory had to make it count. She didn’t want to disappoint the Lady after all. 

She remained in the tree for the moment, waiting for darkness to fall. Beneath the hood of her cloak long hair was carefully tied back so it never spilled forward. Ivory’s fingers ran along the surface of the dark collar at her throat, it was almost a comforting action now. A tie to her Goddess even when she was far from home.

For some reason, the thought of home sent an unpleasant feeling through her, but Ivory could not have put words to why if she’d tried. Instead, she rubbed her fingers along the collar again and let herself relax. She had a few hours before the attack on _this_ village. 

Then darkness came, and Ivory made her way to the center of the village.

Grimm followed her, and as she concentrated more seemed to appear, materializing out of a thick silvery mist that seemed to emanate from the woman. The newly materialized Grimm had silver markings at their throats and ankles, but few survived long enough to notice them.

Ivory remained still in the center of the village as the Grimm did their job. Screams of terror tore through the night. She seemed to revel in the chaos that echoed around her and showed no fear of the Grimm.

Her Goddess would protect her, after all. 

The villagers? They wouldn’t be so lucky. 

* * *

Tyrian was having a great deal of fun, killing these people speaking out against Atlas. Or, more accurately, Tyrian was having fun _killing_. The fact that it was stirring unrest was just a fun bonus for him. 

The new metal tail was certainly an efficient weapon, even if his poison was no longer a part of the equation. 

He was _supposed_ to lay low for a few days while Watts made arrangements with someone in Atlas. Laying low was boring, but Tyrian was sure he could find _something_ to entertain himself. 

Humans and Faunus, they were all the same, easily terrified by the things that go bump in the night. Tyrian _was_ one of the things that went bump in the night, and his Goddess had given him the power to do what it was he wished without much fear. As long as he worked within the constraints of her requests…

And often, she gave him _plenty_ of room to work.

That was what was weighing on his mind while Tyrian remained carefully hidden for the moment. Still, his hiding place offered him an interesting view of the streets, and what should he spot except a little Rose… the very same Rose he’d been told to bring back to the Goddess… alive.

Oh, this could be _fun._

* * *

Ozpin wasn’t sure how long it had been by now. Any attempt at tracking the time slipped beyond him in rather short order. It _did_ seem there were fewer people roaming around Salem’s fortress than there had been before. Whether there were just fewer who bothered to pass by him or that was the _truth_ was difficult to be sure of. 

His Aura had recovered a reasonable amount during captivity, but Salem was careful not to let him recover _too_ much. 

She didn’t talk to him often anymore. It would seem she was busy with whatever scheme she was planning against Ironwood. The details of it were foggy, all he knew was that Tyrian and Watts were in Atlas causing trouble.

The details of _what_ Ironwood was doing were vague as well, though she’d told him all about the embargo and how distraught the people of Mantle were. They were ripe for Grimm attacks. 

And indeed, it seemed that Salem was taking advantage of that fact. Nevermind the more upset the people were, the less likely whatever Ironwood _was_ planning was to succeed. He trusted the General, there was a reason they had worked together for so long, but sometimes his methods could be… overbearing.

There had been no movement in the cell beside his since the day Salem had said something about new pets to show Ivory. He hadn’t had another chance to figure out who the figure was, either.

Some corner of his mind toyed with the idea of _asking_ Salem next time she came to his cell, just to see what her reaction might be.

Not that he could _trust_ the answer, but it may be enlightening all the same. Then again, perhaps he could. They both knew he’d never escape from this place, so she was being quite a bit freer than he’d expected.

She seemed to plan to keep him alive as long as his body could withstand. It made sense, if he was here, alive, he wasn’t reborn somewhere out of reach and able to get to his allies again.

Still, it was worrisome because they could have used his experience and his knowledge. Without those, they were working in the dark about Salem, and likely following James’ plans. James was a good man, but Ozpin was not certain he could meet Salem in battle and come out on top in _any_ sense of the term.

Ironwood wouldn’t know, wouldn’t understand that he couldn’t _destroy_ her, he could only drive her back. With the wrong goals in mind… no, with the wrong goals in mind, he could never succeed. But who’s fault was that?

Ozpin knew the answer all too well.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been several weeks since they had gained their licenses. They’d spent that time helping in Mantle for the most part with small missions. They _had_ also assisted in several more Grimm clearing missions for the sake of the Amity Arena launch. Along with supply runs.

They had tried to help sort out what was happening in Mantle with the murders, but so far had been unsuccessful. And tried to help soothe the riots that were breaking out as SDC closed more and more of it’s operations. Things… weren’t going well. 

Ruby and Qrow were sparring in one of the Academy’s training rooms. Blake and Yang _had been_ sparring but ended up sitting off to one side taking a break when they finished before Ruby and Qrow. 

The still-sparring pair took advantage of the extra space, with Ruby using her semblance to dart in and out of range, and Qrow moving to a more central location in the space. 

Qrow was genuinely impressed by how much she’d grown in the year since their last match like this, back at the Vytal Festival. There was a fierce determination set in her features, but also more power behind her attacks and blocks. He was really having to _work_ to keep up with her. 

There was no initial testing of her defense before allowing her to move to offense, she worked to be able to attack every moment of the fight, and she kept her defense sharp while she did it. It was impressive, he had to admit. Some corner of his mind wondered if she _knew_ just how far she’d come in such a short time.

She vanished and it was only the slightest sound behind him that told Qrow what the girl was planning. He managed to avoid the sweep and block her with Harbinger, but only barely, and the shock crossed his features in the process.

There was a time when she wouldn’t have been able to even get _close_ to that. The match wore on, normally Qrow would have called it by now, but at this point, he wanted to see how far she’d go, and how far she could keep up with him for. Her Aura was still in a good range for a match like this, so he wasn’t worried. 

Qrow allowed the match to extend, continuing to meet her strikes and to push her onto the defensive from time to time. It was the first time he’d _ever_ sparred with Ruby sober, and it was an interesting experience.

One would think his reflexes were _better_ \- and they were. But he also wasn’t using his full force here. At least the worst of the withdrawal symptoms had faded off, leaving him with just the headaches, for the most part.

No words were exchanged amid the fight, merely the continued exchange of their attacks seemed to speak for itself. The fact that he hadn’t called the fight yet meant they were doing something different. Ruby continued to fight her hardest, concentrating on keeping her balance and attacking Qrow wherever she found an opening.

* * *

She found if she applied her semblance _just_ right she could almost get beyond his defenses, but Ruby also knew she was going to get one shot at this. Mentally she relaxed, continuing to exchange blows as she had been with him, her mind putting together what she would need to do. There was every chance she’d fail - but she’d never know if she didn’t try, right?

Ruby activated her semblance and feinted one way at the same time. Qrow moved to block a strike that never came. Ruby materialize on the other side of him and struck instead. 

Qrow let out a noise of surprise as he fell, the realization of what she’d done falling into place, but too late to actually stop him from hitting the training room floor. 

Qrow made no immediate effort to recover, remaining where he’d fallen and then he devolved into laughter after only a few seconds of looking up at Ruby.

Her expression shifted from pleased with herself to slightly horrified as the fact that he’d _actually_ fallen set in. “Are you okay? I didn’t-”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Qrow managed after the laughter died, finally picking himself up and dusting himself off a bit. “Ruby that was good, that was _really_ good. You’ve gotten so much better, even in just the last year.” 

Ruby ducked her head slightly. “Don’t flatter me.”

“I’m not. We sparred last at the Vytal Festival. Do you remember?”

“Of course I-”

“Do you remember how _easily_ I kept you on the defensive until I felt like letting you attack? How easily I met every attack you made?”

Ruby nodded, mutely.

“Think about the match we just had. Really think about it for a second,” He paused allowing her a moment to step back and consider it. “You slipped past my defenses more than once, and that last time you put me on the floor. You couldn’t have done that a year ago even _with_ your semblance.”

He paused again for a moment, and when Ruby didn’t say anything, he sighed. “Even as recently as Oniyuri, you couldn’t have kept up with me. The fight you had with Tyrian proved it.” 

Ruby flinched at the reminder of that _disaster_. Qrow sighed, tousling her hair with one hand. “My point is, don’t underestimate yourself so much as to say my praising your growth is _flattery,_ Petal.”

* * *

“There is… someone who would like to meet you.” 

“Oh uh, who is it?” 

“You’ll see.” General Ironwood led her to a side room and left her in front of one of the doors, motioning for her to enter on her own before leaving.

Ruby hesitated for a moment before opening the door. The person she was greeted by was totally unfamiliar. She had gray hair and was clearly significantly older than even her uncle Qrow. Her eyes were a soft blue-gray in color. 

“You really _are_ the spitting image of your mother.” The woman murmured upon seeing her.

“Uh… thanks?” Ruby looked uncomfortable. “I’m Ruby Rose. You asked to see me?”

“If things were better, we’d be far more familiar with one another, Ruby.” The older woman said, tilting her head slightly to one side. “My name is Ginger Rose. Though I use my maiden name most of the time these days, Roux.”

That was… more information than Ruby was expecting but it only left her deeper in the dark. Rose? Like her mother? And the name Rose had come from her _husband?_ Still Ruby didn’t know what to say or how to feel about the situation, and she was quiet for a moment, merely offering a nod to indicate she understood. 

“I hadn’t _really_ spoken with your mother since she went to Beacon. We had a small argument about her decision to become a huntress.”

If she hadn’t spoken to Summer _at all_ after that, Ruby suspected it was far more than a ‘small’ argument. “I see. Well, in that case, I don’t think you’ll be any happier with me. I am my mother’s daughter.” Ruby raised her head slightly, looking comfortable and confident in that reality. 

“I always regretted that I didn’t have a chance to make up with her,” Ginger continued quietly. “I was… I shouldn’t have been so harsh. But I was afraid to lose her the way I had lost her father.” It went unspoken that in the end, she had done just that. 

“She knew what she was doing. She knew the choice she was making.” Ruby said it quietly. “Just like I do. Sometimes the risks are worth it. Sometimes we’re the only ones who can do what we’re doing.”

Ginger tilted her head slightly, accepting that answer, but clearly not sure how to respond to the girl before her who was summoning the ghosts of her past. “At…any rate, I had a few things of Summer’s that she left behind that I thought you might like to have. And I thought perhaps we could exchange scroll information so we could talk sometimes, at least while you’re home in Atlas.”

Atlas wasn’t home was Ruby’s immediate reaction, but she didn’t say that. “That’d be nice.” Was what Ruby said instead, though she did still have her reservations. 

Ruby held her scroll out, and Ginger touched the end of hers to it. “I’ll send over the items in question so that you can have them. I didn’t bring them because I wasn’t sure if you would like them or not.”

“I understand,” Ruby said quietly. Some part of her wasn’t sure about this, wasn’t sure she _wanted_ to go through her mother’s things. She hardly remembered Summer, and maybe it was better not to risk hurting Qrow with something - on the other hand, if Summer hadn’t been home since before Beacon, then they’d be things he’d never seen before, either.

There was a tap on the door, and then it pushed open to reveal Blake. “Uh, Ruby, we have that meeting with the-” She cut herself off. “Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were-”

Ginger’s expression shifted from pleasant to disgusted and she made a slight noise in the back of her throat.

Ruby bristled slightly in Ginger’s direction, “It’s fine, Blake.” Ruby said, careful to keep her tone warm and light. “That meeting’s really important and we were almost done here.”

Ruby focused back on Ginger then. “Blake is my teammate and my friend. If that bothers you, then it would be best for you to just stay away from me.” Her tone left no room for defense or argument.

Ginger looked surprised and then resigned.

Ruby stepped out of the room to join Blake in the hallway.

“Who was that woman?”

“My grandmother, apparently,” Ruby said with a slight shrug.

She’d think about it more later. For right now she had a debriefing session to pay attention to. This next phase of the mission was just as important as the last had been.


	7. Chapter 7

One more day before the mission, and today they were _supposed_ to be taking it easy. The box Ginger had wanted to send her arrived, and Ruby eyed it with some trepidation. She was alone, Yang and Blake were having lunch together and Weiss was supposed to be spending sometime with Winter - Ruby thought it would be good for all of them.

But it left her alone with this box of memories that she wasn’t entirely sure how to approach. Finally, the girl worked up the courage and opened the box. The first thing that she pulled out was a silver dress with an ash gray rose embroidered in the corset styled bodice. The skirt itself seemed to be designed to flare slightly out when twirled. It was lovely, though perhaps far too fancy for Ruby to ever be comfortable in. It felt expensive, like silk or something, between her fingers.

There was movement in the doorway, Ruby’s attention snapped to the door, eyes widening a little - but it was just Weiss.

“Oh, hey Weiss! I thought you were going to have lunch with your sister.”

“I was,” Weiss said, with a slight sigh. “But she got called away to something important. She said she’d text me when she has a free moment so we can pick up where we left off but… you know how that goes.”

Ruby made a sympathetic noise. 

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No, just going through some old things my grandmother thought I should have.”

“That dress is lovely, but it probably shouldn’t be left folded in a box like that.”

Ruby laughed. “I was thinking the same - it looks like there are more of them.”

“I can help you hang some of them up. There’s plenty of space in the closet.”

“That’d be nice.” Ruby stood and moved towards the closet, and Weiss met her there, pulling it open and helping her get the silver number onto a hanger properly.

The next item Ruby pulled out was a white and gold dress with swirling vine patterns embroidered at the shoulder and waist. Weiss took it from her and hung it up while Ruby pulled out the next piece - solid crimson with some kind of crystal sewn into the bodice. the gown itself was easily floor length. Ruby brought that one over herself. 

“I didn’t know your mother was Atlesian,” Weiss said after a moment, seeming to have decided it was a safe topic.

“Neither did I.” Ruby admitted, looking down and away. “There’s not much I know about my mom, actually.”

“Oh, I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize-”

“It’s okay. Don’t be.” Ruby smiled at the white-haired girl. “She just went on a mission when I was little, and she never came home. Most of what I know about her is from Yang.” Or occasionally Dad or Uncle Qrow. 

Weiss looked like she was going to say something, but her attention was drawn down to her scroll. “Oh, it’s Winter.”

“Go,” Ruby said, still smiling. “Thank you for your help though.”

Weiss left then and Ruby spent a moment looking at the dresses they’d hung up more closely. She hadn’t really taken the time to appreciate the sheer detail in the rose on the silver dress, but now that she looked at it closely the threads on the petals were a lighter gray that shimmered slightly in the light, while the stem and leaves were a darker gray that was more of a matte color. 

Finally, she drew back and closed the closet door, reminding herself that she had quite a bit to do. Ruby sat down beside the box, fully intending to continue going through it when the door opened again and Yang entered, this time.

“Oh, hey Yang.” She smiled brightly. “…No Blake?”

“Blake is helping Nora with something for Ren, and after the four of us were going to go to a movie.”

“Oh! That sounds like fun.”

“I see the box you mentioned from Miss Roux came in.”

Ruby nodded. “There are some lovely dresses in the closet. I haven’t gotten through the rest yet.”

Yang sat down on the floor beside her, peering into the box. On top, there were a few small boxes that looked like they would _probably_ contain jewelry. Ruby drew out one of the boxes and shifted slightly so that Yang could see the contents as she opened it. This one had a scroll sitting on top, and to Ruby’s surprise when she touched it, it opened. The background image was Summer with Ruby in her arms and Yang sitting mostly on her lap. It also presented them with a request for a password.

Ruby glanced at Yang and then moved the scroll so that her sister could see it better. 

“How did she get this…”

“I…don’t know,” Ruby admitted. 

Yang made a few attempts at entering a password, but none of them worked. Eventually, they set it aside and continued looking through the box they’d gotten it out of, noticing several small crystal figures of Grimm and one or two of Huntsman in different poses. After spending a few moments examining the figurines, the box was closed and set aside while the next was taken out and opened.

This one held jewelry, more like what Ruby had been expecting after seeing those dresses.

“Briar Rose.” Yang murmured, sounding amused as she pulled a choker out of the set. The main portion was a vine and thorn design with the Rose emblem hanging from it as a pendant. 

“Gosh, it’s beautiful,” Ruby whispered. 

“I think it’d look great on you.”

Ruby rolled her eyes and pulled out the next piece. This was one was eternity knot with a small red gem set at it’s center. There was _also_ a tiara-styled hair piece that shared the choker’s rose and thorns style.

Eventually, the sisters put the jewelry back in its box and carefully closed it. The remainder of the box seemed to be books, including what looked like a journal young Summer must have been keeping.

Quietly Ruby tucked the books away onto the shelf, most of them weren’t anything she’d ever read before, but she looked forward to the chance - and maybe Blake would enjoy a few of them too.

“I think that’s everything,” Yang said after shelving the last book.

“It still feels a bit strange, seeing all these things and knowing…”

“I think she would have wanted you to have them.”

“Us.” Ruby corrected quietly. There had been more than a few pieces that were Yang’s style, and she still thought that white and gold dress would suit her better anyway. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Us.” Yang wrapped an arm around Ruby’s shoulders. “If you figure out how to get into the scroll, you’ll let me know right?”

“Of course!” There was a pause, and then, “Weren’t you going to a movie with Blake?”

“Oh right!” Yang glanced down at her scroll. “It… looks like their waiting on me. Oops.”

Ruby laughed, and Yang left.

And again, Ruby was alone.

* * *

It took a series of password guesses before she was able to get into the scroll. The last one she’d tried - Branwen - seemed awfully simple, but it was also confusing to Ruby. But she didn’t think about it too deeply. Now that she was in, some part of her considered stopping so that she and Yang could see everything together.

But curiosity pulled at her, and the reality was everything would still be there when Yang got back, and she could show her too. If she looked first, then she’d know what sorts of things Yang might want to see rather than exploring blindly until they found something.

It _did_ feel a bit like an invasion of privacy, but Ruby reasoned that they were long past anything _sensitive_ being revealed. Her mother had been gone for twelve years, after all. And it wasn’t as if she wanted to bring the scroll up to Qrow - there was no way it _wouldn’t_ be hard on her uncle.

The first thing she opened, reflexively was the Messages area, and she could see conversations from Qrow, her dad, and Ozpin, in that order. There were a few other names that she didn’t recognize, and then towards the bottom was one with Raven.

Ruby found she couldn’t bring herself to open any of the messages, it felt too personal, too much like intruding. These were conversations with people Ruby knew, and they were private. She closed the messages application and spent a moment looking at the background, at the woman whom she only remembered distantly. 

She opened one of the folders - labeled STRQ - at random and found herself looking at various shots of the team. There was one of Qrow and Raven standing side by side, both looking _content_ if not happy, and one of Raven leaning on Taiyang’s shoulder half asleep. There were actually _several_ of Raven and Taiyang together, Ruby noticed. 

There were a few of Uncle Qrow and Summer, too. They’d been partners Ruby remembered from her uncle’s stories, so that wasn’t strange, but there were a few - like the one of him asleep with his head in Summer’s lap - that looked… almost intimate. Then again, Ruby could imagine herself doing the same to Weiss if the other girl would tolerate it. So there was… that.

Eventually, she ran to the end of the folder and closed it out before choosing another - Xiao Long Family. This one had pictures of Taiyang and Raven again, some looked to be from a wedding. There was one of Raven looking pensive while holding an infant that could _only_ have been Yang. Next to it, clearly taken the same day, was one of Summer with her arm around Raven, smiling into the camera with the infant still in her mother’s arms.

There was a video in the folder of Taiyang and Raven at the altar, confirming Ruby’s suspicions that some of the other pictures were likely from a wedding. Eventually, she closed out of that folder, too. The next folder she opened was just titled Us and she didn’t really know what to expect.

The folder was full of Qrow and Summer both. There were more intimate shots like the one from the STRQ folder. A video of Summer and Qrow dancing at the wedding, another of them dancing in the yard together. Many pictures of soft smiles and quiet moments. Ruby felt strange, almost detached as she looked over them, not quite understanding what she was seeing.

Her mom and Uncle Qrow had been _awfully_ close. It was the picture of them sleeping together while Summer was pregnant that gave her the most pause. Qrow fully relaxed at Summer’s back, obviously deeply asleep, with one arm curled protectively around her and resting on her heavily pregnant belly. They were just sleeping, but there was something undeniably intimate about the picture. 

Ruby didn’t give herself much time to think about it, to process, before she moved on.

The next thing was a video. Ruby hesitated and then played it. “Sit.” She heard a feminine voice that pulled on memories murmur. She was blocking the camera partially at first.

“Now, here hold her. Support her head like this, and-”

“Summer-”

“You’re not going to drop her, _but_ that’s why you’re sitting. Even if you do it’s three inches for her to land in your lap.” Summer moved to the side, and Qrow became visible, holding a tiny infant in his arms. “But you are _not_ getting out of holding your daughter.”

Ruby dropped the scroll in shock, but the video continued to play and she picked it up again off the floor in time to watch Qrow look down at the infant in his arms with a look akin to wonder.

“What did you end up naming her, Sum?”

“Ruby, like you suggested. Ruby Bran-”

“Absolutely not!” He cut off before she could finish in a low hiss. “Rose. Ruby Rose.” He corrected, “She doesn’t need the tie to the _bandits,_ Summer.”

“But it’s your name.”

“And she doesn’t need to bear that burden.” 

The infant seemed to pick up on the tension in the air, and began to cry, his attention turned down to her instantly, and Ruby watched as he began to rock her and speak in a much softer tone. The words couldn’t be understood, but somehow Ruby knew what he was singing. She’d only had a recording of that lullaby for years now. 

The video ended then. 

Ruby closed the scroll and set it down on the bed beside her as she tried her best to absorb what she’d just seen.

Her first instinct was to go find Qrow _immediately_ and demand the truth from him. He’d promised, he’d promised not to lie how could he keep something so important from her!? Her second was that it wouldn’t be fair to rush to him and make demands. It would be better if she calmed down before trying to talk to him about it. She didn’t want him to think she was _attacking_ him she just… wanted the truth. 

And she’d show Yang, but not until after the mission tomorrow. They didn’t _both_ need this messing with their heads. 

* * *

“So,” Clover began calmly. “Does everyone know their part today?” They were standing in the snow at a central location. Each group had different objectives and then they would meet back here.

“I’m still not sure about sending Ruby by herself.” Qrow voiced finally.

“It’s a bit late for objections.” Ruby pointed out in an even tone. She’d done a good job of acting normally, of pretending the day before hadn’t happened. “I’ll be fine, I can do this. It’s just a recon mission,” And Harriet wouldn’t be _that_ far if something really did happen. She turned her attention to Clover. “I went over the objectives with my team again. We’re ready.”

Her team was already split up. Blake and Yang would be going in one direction by themselves to assist in clearing Grimm in this area. Weiss was paired with Elm and Vine. Jaune, Ren and Nora were working in Mantle that day instead of out on the Tundra with them. At least they were together, Ruby thought.

The murders in Mantle had only been getting worse, and they _still_ didn’t know why the cameras kept going dead.

Clover nodded slightly, looking pleased with her forethought. “Then let's get this show on the road. Don’t forget to listen and respond to requests for updates.”

“Yes, sir.”

They scattered then. Ruby and Harriet moved together for the first portion of their paths, though they would diverge eventually. Ruby didn’t say much, making little effort to engage Harriet in conversation. There wasn’t a lot to say, and she’d made it quite clear that she didn’t have any interest in being _friendly_.

“Take care of yourself,” Harriet said quietly just before they split.

“You too.”

Ruby hoped her team was fairing well with their groups. As if the thought had begun the process, she could hear Clover requesting an update from each group in turn. She heard Yang’s immediate affirmative and a slower but similar affirmative from Qrow, and then from Elm.

“Bree and I just split,” Ruby spoke up when it was her turn. “Proceeding onto my objective now.”

Simple scouting and recon. She was looking for signs of a specific Grimm that was causing trouble for the team at the mine. Unfortunately, they didn’t know where the Wyvern was hiding. Unlike the Geist, it could cover a great deal of ground in almost no time at all. It made this a rather… difficult task.

Nonetheless, if they couldn’t stop the Wyvern’s attacks, they may never manage to launch the Coliseum into orbit, and that wouldn’t do.

“Remember, if you locate it, do not engage.”

“Consider me reminded.” Ruby wasn’t foolish enough to engage with a _Wyvern_ solo. The incident at Beacon had been a completely different situation, and she hadn’t been there for the Wyvern, she’d been there for Pyrrha.

Ruby arrived at the village she’d been directed to check in on as part of her scouting mission. Immediately she knew something was wrong.

“This is Rose, I’m seeking permission to deviate slightly and check more closely on this village.”

“What’s going on?”

“There’s no life that I can see from the outskirts. I’m a little concerned.” It was a small, temporary mining village, but there still should have been _something.”_

“Permission granted, but be careful, Rose. Keep me updated.”

Ruby continued forward into the village, carefully peering around. She knocked on a few of the doors as she went, but got no answer. Eventually, she made it to the center of the village. An attack had clearly happened here, of some kind. Grimm? Maybe, probably even.

There were a dozen citizens, all were dead, sporting various significant injuries. The robotic soldiers that had been with them to keep them safe had been ripped apart.

Ruby activated her scroll. “They’re… all dead.” She said, her tone a little sad.

“There was no distress signal from the village.” Clover sounded confused.

“I… don’t know. I can’t explain it. But they’re gone, the soldiers too.”

“The Wyvern?”

“No. Smaller, beowolves and sabyr if I had to guess based on the injury patterns.”

“Mm. We’ll mark the location for a recovery team. Go ahead and continue with your original objective, Rose.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ruby continued onward with only a look back over her shoulder, heart constricting. She had to focus on her mission and had to worry about the living now. But to think that maybe she could have saved them if she’d come sooner… then again, those bodies were days old.

It was less disconcerting than the Brunswick Farms had been, at least these had very clear injuries that explained their untimely demises. Still, it was a harsh reminder of how fragile humanity’s grip on the surface of Remnant really was.


	8. Chapter 8

The teams were starting to gather back at the central point. Clover had been the first to return to it, and shortly thereafter Qrow had followed him. They waited in companionable silence for the moment. 

“Can I get an update?” Clover chimed over the Comm system finally.

“We’re heading back.” Blake’s voice was the one that answered first. “We should be at the Rendezvous point within 10 minutes.”

“Good. Elm?”

“Fifteen or twenty for us. We went further than originally planned as there were indications of a large Grimm hunting the area.”

“Bree?”

“I’ll be there in 10. No signs where I was.”

“Rose?” 

“I lost a little time in the village,” Ruby admitted. “But I shouldn’t be more than 20 or so minutes out.”

“Good. Everyone keep on the return. There seems to be a storm starting to come in from the west, I want to be out of here before it rolls in.”

Qrow leaned against one of the trees near by, settling in to wait as the others began to appear. Slowly they did, one at a time. Bree arrived first, and then Blake and Yang. They gave their full reports to Clover as they arrived, and Qrow was only half listening. 

Eventually, Elm and her group appeared and gave their report as well, discussing that they had seen. 

Qrow thought their direction was probably going to be where they continued their exploration, depending on what Ruby had found. After all, they were the only ones that had come across definite signs of something larger than a Sabyr hunting. 

It had been thirty minutes, Ruby still hadn’t appeared. Qrow’s frown deepened. Clover watched as he raised one hand and activated his scroll. “Where are you, Ruby?”

There was a deafening silence that answered. “Ruby?” He repeated once, not any louder than before. He listened closely for even just a crackle of her activating the line but not being able to respond. There was nothing.

Absolute silence. Red eyes met green, concern remained reflected on Qrow’s features, Clover noted. He wasn’t surprised. Family tended to do that. Clover was rather displeased at her lack of an answer, but concerned as well - after all, Ruby had been on top of answering every time he’d requested an update all day long. And now she stopped?

“Uh… her marker isn’t showing on the map at all.” Weiss mentioned, drawing Clover’s attention to her, while the screen of her scroll projected the map of their objectives. All of their markers were clustered together and as Weiss stated, Ruby’s wasn’t there at all. “It disappears about 20 minutes ago if I let it time-lapse through the mission.”

20 minutes was a significant amount of time. “Where did it disappear from?” Qrow pressed immediately before Clover could say anything. 

Weiss manipulated the map until it revealed Ruby’s marker in a place along the path towards them from her objective. “There.”

“We don’t have time to try and search. This storm is coming in now.” Clover pointed out darkly, and he wasn’t _wrong_ , the clouds had long since gathered, and the first flakes of snow had begun to fall. 

“I’m not leaving without Ruby,” Qrow said simply, flatly. “You can go back to the drop point and make your report. I’m going to stay and search.”

“You’ll freeze, Branwen.”

“That’s my family, Ebi.” Qrow snapped back, his tone leaving no room for any argument.

Clover sighed, clearly displeased. This wasn’t the time to be arguing about searching for a lost huntress.

“We’re not leaving either.” Yang said flatly. “She’s our team leader and my sister. If this storm is dangerous for us…” She shook her head, clearly unwilling to think about the fact that there may be nothing to be found.

Ruby’s marker disappearing from the map was a bad, bad sign.

“We can’t sacrifice all of us for one missing person. We’ll start searching once the storm is over.”

“There won’t be anything to find after the blizzard blows through.” Qrow retorted. “You don’t have to sacrifice anything. Take your team home if you must.” 

Qrow began to move out towards the last place Ruby’s marker had been seen on the map. 

“We’ll start where she disappeared.” Weiss began after a moment, “And if there’s nothing there, then we can fan out and look for traces.” 

Yang voiced agreement, and team rwby followed Qrow into the snow and away from the Ace Ops.

“I don’t feel good about leaving them alone to search,” Elm admitted quietly, to Clover’s dismay. 

“I don’t either, for what it’s worth.” Marrow admitted. 

“Harriet?” Clover asked finally. 

“I’ll do what you say.” Her tone was even, “But the more of us on the ground searching the faster we’ll find whatever there is to find, and we can _all_ get out of here.” She shrugged slightly. 

“Fine, fine.” Clover changed their course again and headed towards where the others were already searching.

* * *

“The blizzard is worsening,” Clover mumbled. 

“We noticed, thanks.” Yang’s voice was a little cold. In her hands was a black bird. She shook her head slightly. “Here, try to keep this warm.” 

“Wh-… it’s a -”

“Bird yes. Don’t hurt it.” Her slightly narrowed gaze indicated a slight threat if Marrow _did_ hurt the bird she’d handed him. “But Weiss is calling me further out, she found something.” And Yang didn’t want to have to cart Qrow out if she didn’t have to. Besides, she might need her hands.

Yang wasn’t watching when Clover took Qrow from Marrow. 

Blake fell into step beside her, and they made their way to the clearing. It took no time at all to realize why Weiss had called them. Crescent Rose lay in the middle of a clearing in the middle of the small corpse of trees, and the snow here was churned up. There had been a fight here.

A _bad_ one. 

“Blake, can you climb that tree?” Yang asked, pointing. “An aerial view would be helpful, get a few pictures.” 

Blake nodded and set to climbing the tree that had been indicated. It was a study one and held her weight easily. Yang carefully made her way around the clearing, taking pictures and looking for any indication of _what_ Ruby had been fighting. There was a lot of blood splattered in the snow in one particular area. She tried not to think about it too much.

There was no body but…

“Any update girls?” Clover asked over the comm system.

“We found Ruby’s weapon and signs of a fight. No body and no trail.” Yang reported rather immediately. “Trying to get a better look to see if we’re just _missing_ the trail but…I’m not holding my breath.” 

She did pick up Crescent Rose though, holding it close to her body. 

“I found pieces of her cloak up here. There _is_ a trail towards the east, but it vanishes very quickly. It’s like they just… disappeared.” 

“It’s possible the snow and wind have already destroyed the trail.” Clover pointed out. There was a pause, and then finally, “Look, I don’t want to do this, but I have to put my foot down. We’re all under a quarter Aura and the storm is worsening fast. We need to get out of here while we still can. We’ll have to continue looking for her after it blows over.”

Yang looked like she might argue, but Weiss set her hand on Yang’s arm. “She wouldn’t want us to risk our lives to find her, Yang.”

Yang’s shoulder’s slumped forward, but she nodded to Weiss, accepting what she’d said without argument. “We’re coming back now.” Weiss was right, and they couldn’t help Ruby if they died here. But…the thought of going back without her made Yang feel horribly sick.

Blake took one of Yang’s hands delicately in her own and led the way back to the Ace Ops. Qrow remained perched in Clover’s hands - it was for the best. At least he was safe, and hopefully warmer than he would have been otherwise. 

The cluster of them made their way back to the pickup point. The pilot gave them a strange look, and Clover said something that Yang didn’t quite here. The blond sat quietly on one of the benches, and the rest of her team settled on either side of her.

“Aren’t we missing Branwen?” Marrow asked, sounding slightly concerned as they prepared to lift off.

“No,” Clover said without missing a beat. Marrow looked confused, but the Ace Ops’ leader didn’t seem interested in cluing him in at the moment.

“The bird, Marrow. What is it?” Vine asked.

“It’s a crow. … Why?”

“When was the last time you saw a wild crow … on Solitas?”

Marrow still looked confused, and Elm laughed. “Well, you tried Vine.”

The mood quickly returned to its somber silence in the wake of Elm’s laughter. Yang’s expression remained dark as she stared out the window into the tundra. 

* * *

At some point during the flight, Qrow recovered enough Aura to return to his human form and did so, much to Marrow’s utter confusion. Qrow _did_ take pity on him enough to tell him bluntly that _he_ had been the bird, and then he’d settled down on the bench on the other side of Weiss, since they’d already clustered around Yang, and he didn’t want to disrupt anyone’s positioning. 

Ironwood was waiting for them when they landed. Qrow hung back, making sure everyone got off the airship before he did, and resting a hand lightly on Yang’s shoulder. She leaned into his touch, shooting him an upset look before he slipped forward to face Ironwood.

Inside they went, ending up settled down in Ironwood’s office as they gave their reports. Yang and Blake showed the pictures that they’d gathered in the clearing where they found Crescent Rose. Weiss discussed - and displayed - how Ruby’s marker vanished off the map in one location, but the fight had happened in another. 

"I don’t know how they did it, but whatever attacked her had _something_ it was using to block the scroll signals,” Weiss said flatly. “There’s no way she didn’t try to call for help.” There was a slight pause. “I just don’t know how…”

“I suspect if we figure it out,” Blake began, “We’ll know how the cameras in mantle keep going blank at inopportune moments.”

Ironwood looked uncomfortable for several moments as the implications of that sank in.

Qrow sighed. “And I have to put on the table that we _have_ to assume that Salem or her forces have something to do with this. Tyrian was to bring her in alive previously. And he quite explicitly said it was Salem that wanted her.”

“Tyrian?” Ironwood asked slowly. 

“Scorpion Faunus, male. Somewhat psychotic. He was very quick and as it turns out his tail was poisonous. … I learned that the hard way.”

“Was?” Blake asked, uncertain.

“Well, Ruby cut the stinger end off about a split second after he cut me with it. Natural reaction to him leaving it wide open.” Slight pause. “She was rather horrified she managed to sever it.” Qrow distinctly remembered _that_ around the many questions about what Tyrian had wanted. And somehow he thought to mention that part to her Faunus teammate would be comforting in the wake of telling her that Ruby had cut off a Faunus’ _tail_. 

“And after that was when I told Ruby and the remainder of JNPR about Salem and the relics. .. And the war.” He shrugged. “After realizing Salem wanted her alive I thought she needed to know how much danger she was really in.”

Besides that, he’d wanted to make sure that she was _really_ sure she wanted to continue on toward Haven.

Ruby hadn’t faltered, she’d insisted on going forward, and in the end, the kids had saved his life thanks to their determination to reach Haven. Without that medical attention, he would have died. Granted without Ruby’s interference he may not have been injured, but he didn’t _know_ that. One never knew how a fight might have gone if things were different. 

His semblance was always a double-edged sword, and it cut him and his allies at least as often as it cut his enemies. Clover seemed to be able to work through the worst of it, but Qrow thought working alone was still his safer bet.

“It was probably the best thing to do at the time,” Ironwood conceded, his expression concerned. “You’re right, we do have to assume that is what happened here.” As… unpleasant as that reality was. 

“So… what now? Jaune asked slowly, still looking rather taken aback by the realization that Ruby really _was_ gone.

“Unfortunately we must press onward,” James said simply. “We can’t halt progress on our current objective, it’s far too important. We will, of course, divert some resources to attempting to locate Ruby, but there is every chance she’s already out of Solitas’ borders if she’s still alive.”

Yang didn’t think that was good enough, and her expression showed it. The implication that sacrifices were unfortunate but necessary, the fact that she might be _alive_ out there and they weren’t going to do everything they could to bring her back.

“James…” Qrow started quietly. “We can’t press on blindly. If we open the war fully Salem has a _hostage_. And we have reasonably strong proof she’s _already_ working here in Mantle with the ties between Ruby’s Scroll going dead and the cameras doing the same.”

“We can’t back down either, Qrow. We’ve put too much into this. You know as well as I do that-”

“I don’t want to hear about how sacrifices are _necessary_ James.” Qrow snapped, eyes flashing slightly as his Aura flared, weak though it was.

James sighed, sitting back slightly in his chair as he regarded the group gathered around his office. Jaune, Nora, and Ren stood in one cluster, Weiss, Blake, and Yang stood in another, though Yang stood closest to Qrow, with her arms crossed over her chest tightly. Behind them, the Ace Ops were fanned out with Clover in the center and two on either side of him. 

Penny hadn’t heard yet, she was in Mantle, trying to calm some of the uprisings in the streets and dealing with the Grimm that the uprising was attracting. 

And Qrow, Qrow sat directly across from James with those crimson eyes staring into his soul. 

Qrow didn’t think he’d ever felt so _lost_ , not since Summer had disappeared. He’d failed her. He’d failed to protect her, and at no point had he even known she was in danger. That wasn’t his fault, the Scrolls failing wasn’t something he could have controlled but the weight still settled heavily onto his shoulders.

Weiss sighed. “I think… we should all take a little time to try and rest. It’s been a long day, and we’re all worn down. We can regroup and decide our next moves at a later time. When we’re all a little less tired and our nerves are less frayed.” Weiss had _originally_ wanted to be the leader instead of leaving it to Ruby, but it felt _wrong_ as she stepped forward into that role now. 

“Weiss is right,” Blake said quietly, but firmly. 

Yang shot Blake an unhappy look but nodded wearily. 

James nodded quietly. “That sounds like a very good idea. Take the rest of the evening to yourselves. We’ll regroup tomorrow and discuss our next plans.”

“Join us for dinner.” Yang’s attention was on Qrow.

He frowned. “I was going to go to bed, Firecracker.”

“You need to eat first.” Her tone didn’t leave much room to be argued with. 

Qrow looked like he might anyway for a moment before he nodded tiredly. “Alright, alright. I’m coming.”

Thankfully at this particular hour, the cafeteria wasn’t busy. The students wouldn’t take their meal for another two hours, which meant that they had some peace and quiet, as well as the chance to find a table together to eat. Qrow sat on the far edge of the table, looking drained, Yang ended up sitting beside him and Blake and Weiss sat across from them. Jaune, Ren, and Nora joined them at the table a little while later. 

It was a somber meal, but they couldn’t recover their aura without food. 


	9. Interlude: Raven and Taiyang

Raven had been hanging around, he didn’t know why, but she’d been on Patch for weeks. He kept finding feathers and small things that made it clear she hadn’t left yet, but Taiyang hadn’t been able to catch more than a glimpse of her here and there. He didn’t know what she was around for, he didn’t know what she wanted. … What she was hiding from, even.

He’d stopped trying after the first few days. It didn’t matter. He’d made his peace with what Raven had done to him, and to Yang. She would show herself, or she wouldn’t. But she was still family, in a way, and she had been his teammate. He often left a plate of food covered on the porch for her and stayed inside. And every morning when he went out, the food had been eaten, and the plate covered back up. 

He’d considered leaving a note with the food once or twice but had decided against it. After all, he _had_ made his peace with her going away a long time ago.

There was a sudden knock on his door, and Taiyang frowned to himself, but set down the cup of tea he’d been drinking and pulled it open.

Only to find Raven standing on his doorstep.

“The village is under attack,” She began without preamble. “They could use the help of a huntsman, badly. There are more Grimm there than I’ve _ever_ seen on Patch.”

Taiyang frowned as the words sank in. He turned away from the door, obviously going to retrieve Storm Dragon. There had been an initial reaction where he’d wanted to ask her a dozen questions but the reality was that the village being under attack was far more important than anything he might want to say to her.

“Are you going to help?”

“I hadn’t planned on it.”

“You’re clearly here for a reason.”

“I thought you’d want to know.”

“That’s not what I meant Rae.” He slid the gauntlets in place on his arms, and a sense of peace washed over him. Panicking would only make the attack _worse,_ after all.

“Fine.” She said without any more argument. “I’ll help.” 

There was something in her tone as she said it, it was clear she was doing it for _him_ and not for the village, but Taiyang couldn’t put his finger on why she’d do anything for him after all this time. Maybe it was her strange way of thanking him for making sure she had decently well-cooked meals while she was sleeping wherever she was staying on Patch.

“You could have just asked to come inside you know. I wouldn’t have turned you away.” He wasn’t looking at her as he walked out of the small house and towards the main village, picking up to a jog without waiting on her response.

It was just as well, she didn’t give him one.

She _did_ draw Omen into her hand as they reached the edge of the village, and Taiyang dove into battle without a second thought. 

It was almost as if they had never been apart. They fought well together, they always had, and without having to make up for Qrow’s semblance, it was only a more fluid process. 

Ripping through Grimm was, in many ways the easy part. The villagers were worked up into a panic and Taiyang couldn’t blame them, but it wasn’t helping the situation in any way, either. 

The Grimm just kept coming, but slowly Taiyang and Raven were working their way towards the middle of the village. On the far side, towards Signal, there were others fighting. It wasn’t surprising that some of the other teachers had come to the village’s aid. That was part of what they did. 

There was a humanoid figure in the middle of the village, and the silvery mist around them seemed to be coming from _her_. Naturally, Taiyang darted towards the figure, activating the lightning dust in Storm Dragon as he did so. 

But then he froze as his gaze met the figure’s eyes. Dark reddish hair, silver eyes, and a dead, blank expression. 

The world half froze around him but before he could say anything, or move forward to continue his attack, she disappeared into a burst of red and white rose petals, taking the silver mist with her.

Raven and Taiyang made short work of the remaining Grimm.

“What the hell was that? You just _let_ her go!” Raven snapped.

“Did you see her?” Taiyang asked, blue eyes meeting red for the first time that night.

“No, I saw a shape in white and I saw you _freeze_ instead of going after her!”

“She looked like Summer,” Taiyang said quietly, barely managing to keep his voice level despite the way his heart clenched. “And it caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting the one standing in the middle of this chaos to be-”

“It _can’t_ have been Summer, Tai. That doesn’t make sense.”

“She even burst into rose petals, Rae!”

Raven _had_ seen that he knew she had. He’d seen the look on her face for a split second when it happened.

“We can’t be worried about chasing ghosts, Tai.” She said it flatly. 

Taiyang looked away for a second, surprised at how easily she’d said _we_. They hadn’t been a team since Raven walked away seventeen years ago. They hadn’t been a team since because life got chaotic and Qrow went on missions alone and Summer stayed with him, helping him raise Yang while he helped her with Ruby. 

They’d worked together, but contrary to popular belief, they’d never really fallen in love. Summer had _always_ loved Qrow, and Taiyang had always loved Raven in his way. But they’d lived and worked together seamlessly. The girls had deserved that much, a solid home and support of both parents, until they were old enough and then Ruby would be told the truth. Who knew what would have happened to their dynamic then, they’d never made it that far. Summer had died.

… Or had she?

“The attack seems to be over,” Raven said finally, sheathing Omen at her hip and turning her attention fully to Taiyang. 

He nodded at her, and then after exchanging a few words with one of the other huntsman present, motioned for her to follow him back towards the small house that stood away from the village.

Surprisingly, Raven did follow him. Without asking any questions he made her a cup of tea and then sat down on the couch, Raven stood somewhat awkwardly on the far side of the room.

“Why did you come back to Patch now?”

“Does it really matter?”

“No, but I’m curious. Especially since you stayed for so long instead of going back to your tribe.”

He didn’t want to think about seeing Summer in the middle of the village, he didn’t want to think about the _implications_ of her being there. Not yet. 

Raven sighed and sat down on the opposite side of the couch, not looking at Taiyang. “I did something I shouldn’t have, and I regret it.”

Taiyang frowned. That was… a very vague answer, but it was strange to hear about Raven _regretting_ a choice she’d made all the same. “What did you do?”

“I…” Raven shook her head. “I did something that I thought was best for myself and the tribe. It put me … at odds with Yang and Qrow.” Taiyang knew that meant at odds with _Ruby_ too. “Yang said something that made me change my mind at the last minute, but I couldn’t bring myself to go home.”

There was something she wasn’t telling him, Taiyang was sure, but it was more than he’d anticipated getting all the same.

“She’ll likely forgive you. She does love you.”

“Maybe not this time,” Raven mumbled, mostly to herself. 

Taiyang didn’t comment on that, because he didn’t know the full story, and Yang… well. Maybe she could hold that sort of a grudge. It was hard to say exactly she’d never had to before.

“I have a favor to ask,” Taiyang said finally, toying with the edge of storm dragon instead of looking at her. “I want to go to where Qrow and the girls are. I know you can do that for me.”

Raven frowned. “They probably went to Atlas,” She warned. “And it’s a one-way trip. If I send you there you can’t just _come back_ to Patch. You’ll have to do it the normal way.”

“I do know how your Semblance works, yes.” Taiyang sounded tired. “But, it’s time I stop hiding from this. And maybe they need to know what happened here before she blindsides them too.”

Raven nodded quietly, accepting his answer without arguing with him about it. “Fine. I’ll do it. Get what you need to take with you before I change my mind.”

It didn’t take Taiyang long to gather the few things he needed. Zwei was a concern since there was no one to take care of him while he was gone. In the end, he decided on just taking the dog with him and making a point of sending a message to the huntsman in the village to keep a closer eye on things because he wasn’t going to be around.

Then he rejoined Raven in the living room.

She didn’t look at him, instead, she drew Omen and the portal materialized in the air. Taiyang stepped through it Zwei only a half-step behind him.

And then, to his surprise, Raven followed. 

* * *

“Mantle at last.” Cinder said with a smirk pulling at her lips. Neo, of course, didn’t respond, only rolling her eyes at the taller woman. “Though… it looks like the party is starting without us.”

Here and there were clusters of people who seemed to be stirred up into a rage. Soldiers were trying to calm these sectors. Screens were damaged, windows had had debris thrown through them. 

Cinder and Neo ditched the ship as quickly as they could. And then they made use of Neo’s semblance to blend in as well as they could with the civilians. Slipping in and around the riot was easier than anticipated they found as the blended into the crowd.

“Well, fancy seeing you here.” There was a voice from one of the alleyways. 

Cinder changed course with no particular warning, but the man followed. She wasn’t surprised. Watts wasn’t terribly good at taking a hint or minding his own business.

“Do try not to cause too much trouble. Tyrian and I are working on a plan and it would be… unfortunate if it went as badly as Haven.”

Cinder shot him a glare. 

“It won’t.” Was what she said, her tone calm.

“You’ll find some useful information uploaded to your scroll.” And then Watts seemed to disappear down another street. Cinder wasn’t sorry to see him go. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses, really. This was pre-written but life exploded and I haven't been posting properly. I'm sorry. I'll be posting the pre-written chapters and working through continuing the story from there.

Yang was watching Qrow somewhat critically as she picked her way through her meal. He’d made it through _almost_ half of his, which wasn’t very great, but she was also noticing that he looked like he may well push away from it at any moment. She decided _now_ that she wasn’t going to argue about it. She’d worry about it more at breakfast if he still wasn’t eating well.

His Aura had been dropped the lowest, after all. Under 10 percent, compared to the rest of them not being pushed far below 25 percent before Clover called an end to their search. 

There was no chatter at the table, only occasionally exchanged looks. The weight of Ruby’s absence was heavy and it would probably be moments like this that highlighted it the worst, due to the way she’d always coaxed them into opening up a bit and enjoying themselves during mealtimes.

It happened quite suddenly. There was the slightest noise behind them, and suddenly both Blake and Weiss were on their feet, weapons in hand. Yang rose and turned instantly, her chair still between her and whoever had come up behind but Ember Celica began to activate and expand. 

“Dad?” She sounded surprised, but then her gaze drifted and her eyes turned scarlet. “Raven.” The tone was, but her eyes shifted back to purple very quickly as she got herself under control. Jaune, Ren, and Nora all shifted around the table, obviously ready in case this turned to a fight.

Qrow was the last to rise, the last to turn to face the two who had appeared suddenly. He leaned slightly back against the table. Yang shifted forward slightly, that she could step between him and _her_ if it came down to it.

“How dare you come here after what you did in Haven.” Yang’s voice said quiet, but there was a certain edge to it.

“Easy, Yang.” Tai murmured. “I wanted to see you and Ruby. It’s been a while.”

Yang looked at him and then back to Raven, but she _did_ allow Ember Celica to collapse back into its compact form. The rest of the team followed her queue and put their weapons back on their various clips as well, but the general feeling around the table was still quite tense. 

“Speak of… where is Ruby?” Taiyang asked, glancing slightly around the table and noticing that she _wasn’t_ eating with them.

Yang opened her mouth to respond, but Qrow beat her to it.

“She’s gone, Tai.” His voice was quiet, barely carrying far enough to be heard. “Something went wrong on a mission and she didn’t-”

Taiyang slammed into Qrow quite suddenly, the lightning dust in Storm Dragon activating and giving the other man a shock as he was knocked back against the table, hands sprawling behind him in an attempt to catch himself. The half eaten plate of food tumbled to the floor and shattered. A flicker of dark red aura danced over Qrow’s skin, indicating an Aura break. 

Taiyang’s hand tightened on the cloth of Qrow’s shirt. “How could you let that happen!” He snarled.

Yang reacted near instantly, shoving Taiyang back with her metal hand and closing her other hand around Storm Dragon in the process. The glow of the Dust died on it, and Taiyang looked just slightly stricken as reality set back in.

“What in creation’s name are you thinking!” Yang growled.

Qrow remained leaned against the table, head turned to one side with a grim expression twisting his features. “Let,” He mumbled. “As if I didn’t do everything I could to make sure it didn’t happen.”

Yang’s stance widened aggressively as she stepped between Qrow and her father, and Taiyang took a step back, still surprised by her interference. “ _Qrow_ almost froze to death trying to find Ruby in a blizzard. We _all_ did the best we could. How _dare_ you?” There was a pause, and then more quietly. “And how do you think Ruby would feel if she knew you did that?”

“Yang,” Qrow’s voice was quiet, a little rough from exhaustion.

“Don’t you dare say it’s okay, because it isn’t.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke, clearly not trusting the two in front of her enough to take her eyes off of them.

Raven narrowed her eyes slightly. “Are you … sober?” 

“Yeah, I am.” It was almost surprising she could _tell_ given he was all but swaying with exhaustion. But Raven _did_ know him well, even if they didn’t see eye to eye all the time. “Look, I’m going to go to bed. Anything y’need me for can wait til morning.”

Yang turned her head slightly and caught Blake’s eye, fractionally inclining her head towards Qrow. Normally _she_ would have walked with him to his room to make sure he was okay, but she wasn’t about to leave Blake and Weiss to deal with her family without either her _or_ Ruby to temper things. 

Blake started to follow Qrow, and whatever exchange of words they had was too low for Yang to hear it. In the end, Blake got her way and continued following the older man out of the cafeteria. Her attention refocused on Taiyang and Raven.

Weiss moved around the table to start to clean up the fallen plate. Yang didn’t argue with her, it was easier not to at the moment.

“What happened?”

“Scouting and Recon missions. We were all split up into different groups. Part of Ruby’s was solo. We never got a distress signal, she just dropped off the map. We searched for a long time in the blizzard. Eventually we found blood and churned up snow, along with Crescent Rose. There was no visible trail to follow, likely the storm had already destroyed it.” Yang kept her answer brief, but gave enough detail that Taiyang _knew_ what they’d found.

He didn’t need to know the details of what the Recon mission was _for_. And Yang wasn’t going to tell him without clearance from Ironwood. _Especially_ not with Raven present.

“So what now?”

“Well, tomorrow we all have missions. I’m assuming there will be some moving around due to being down a member and also all worn down from today. We’ll also be regrouping to discuss the next steps for looking for Ruby.” 

Taiyang didn’t look satisfied with the answer, but Yang hadn’t really expected him to. “Why _is_ she here?”

“I would have thought you’d be happy to see her.”

“You thought wrong.” Yang said crisply. “Though probably only because she didn’t tell you what she did.” Her gaze cut to Raven who’s expression was uncomfortable, but she couldn’t _quite_ read it. 

“Look, what happened in Haven was a mistake-”

“No.” Yang said flatly. “A _mistake_ is a misplaced attack that hurts a teammate, a _mistake_ is getting _in the way_ of a teammate’s attack. Or knocking something over. A mistake is _not_ working with a psychopathic demigod and unleashing her upon _your family_. And if you thought walking away from the Relic in Haven was enough to make me forgive you for that, then I don’t really know what to tell you.”

“Maidens are hardly _demigods._ ” 

“And that’s the part you focus on! Any of us could have died,” Yang countered coldly. “And Weiss almost did.”

“I don’t see how Cinder’s actions are my fault.”

“I don’t know, maybe because you opened the portal that let her into Haven!” Yang snarled. “You betrayed us just as much as Lionheart did. And worse, _you_ had the power to say no, to be _helpful_ instead. So don’t talk to be about how it was a mistake. Haven wasn’t one, it was a deliberate choice.”

The moment was broken as Yang’s attention shifted to the doorway at the sound of General Ironwood’s entry. “General.” Her greeting was polite though still tense. 

“I see what Miss Belladonna meant by guests.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Raven, Taiyang it’s a pleasure. Though I do wish the circumstances were… better.” Ironwood’s voice was polite, but it had the same tired edge to it that Yang had noticed the first night they were in Atlas. “I’ll… take it from here.” It was clear he was speaking to _her_ now.

Yang’s shoulder’s relaxed just slightly, and she nodded, accepting that. 

* * *

“Is there a reason my marker isn’t on the list for today?”

“Because General Ironwood feels you need another day to rest with how low your aura got yesterday.” Clover answered without skipping a beat. “We’ve moved some things around, but we’ve got enough coverage to give you a day off.” 

Clover’s attention turned to the remainder of Team RWBY. “You three will be in sector five near the wall. There have been reports of more grimm than usual making it through in that area.”

“Got it.” Weiss said quietly. 

“…Speaking of the wall.” Yang frowned slightly, attention turning to Ironwood who had entered the space with Taiyang and - to her surprise, Raven - “Have you considered diverting any of the resources back to repairing the wall? Between the riots and the damage there Mantle is hurting badly.” Yang paused fractionally, waiting for his response.

Instead, Weiss picked up the thread. “Meeting Robyn halfway on this would be beneficial compared to going to war with her over Mantle, and having her support would be useful at the moment as the people care about her, and the murders are not making anyone look good. Repairing the wall is basically minimum effort but would have a big impact on safety and morale. This project is a big deal, but it means _nothing_ if the people aren’t also taken care of.”

“I had been considering that angle, yes.” Ironwood said in an even tone. “It’s something we can continue discussing at tonight’s debriefing. For now, you have your assignments.”

Weiss didn’t look particularly satisfied with that response, but nodded once anyway, turning sharply on her heel and leading the way out of the room. Yang and Blake followed rather immediately.

The Ace Ops divided and left in short order, leaving Ironwood, Qrow, Taiyang, and Raven in the room.

“There’s something we didn’t have a chance to share last night.” Taiyang began quietly. “And I think you should hear it.”

“I’m listening.” Qrow remained where he was, arms folded over his chest. It was as if the night before hadn’t happened, but there was a tension in the air that made it clear that _everyone_ in the room still remembered how things had gone the evening before. 

“Patch was attacked, at the center of the attack was a human figure. I approached the figure,”

“And froze like a dumbass.”

“Rae.” He shot her a look. “I _did_ freeze, but only because she was familiar. Red and black hair, silver eyes. Wearing white. I got within a certain range and she burst into red and white rose petals.”

Qrow looked just slightly stricken. “That… can’t be.” 

“James said you were pretty sure Salem wanted Ruby alive. Maybe this is why.” Taiyang didn’t sound _pleased_ to be saying such a thing, but the logic was sound, Qrow had to admit.

“It seems unlikely to me that Salem would manage to get _Summer_ to work for her, of all people.”

“I didn’t say I had an explanation, I’m saying what I saw.” Taiyang defended quietly, and then he sighed. “About last night. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t mention it.” Qrow said tightly. “I know how it is.”

“No, seriously. It was out of line.”

Qrow inclined his head slightly accepting the apology for what it was. There was a time he wouldn’t have bothered, but if it made Tai feel better, then so be it. “Why are you here, Raven? Be honest with me.” _She_ was far more concerning than Taiyang’s temper. After all, Tai generally meant well. 

Her shoulders shifted slightly. There was something _different_ in the way she was holding herself. It was a subtle change. But there was less arrogance in her pose than he’d come to expect from his twin.

“There’s been a lot on my mind since Haven. I walked away from all this a long time ago. But Haven… was different.”

Oh, that occurred to her now, after she’d almost gotten them _killed_. He said nothing, merely keeping his attention on her. “Look, I just want to know if you’re going to run off the first time things get hard or if I can try to trust you. After Haven… I’m not sure I can.”

“You need me, and you know it.”

“You made your stance on all this quite clear.”

“I’m the Spring maiden.” Her tone was flat. “And you _do_ need me, even if the Relic isn’t in the vault anymore. Salem’s maiden is a force to be reckoned with, little brother. You won’t survive a clash with her alone.” There was a pause in which she regarded his expression. “Hmph. I didn’t think she told you.”

Yang had known? … Yang had lied about what happened in the Vault. Maybe it didn’t matter in the end. What happened down there was likely between the two of them. On the other hand, knowing that _Raven_ was the Spring Maiden would have been reasonably useful information, even if nothing else was shared.

And, of course, Raven as the Spring Maiden put an… interesting twist on the way Haven had gone down.

Even in her betrayal, she’d gone easy on him. Granted, likely only to continue to hide her powers from Salem, but the reality of what _could_ have happened there set in rather sharply. 

It was going to be a long day, he could tell already. “So, Ruby?” It was easier to ask James about _that_ than to approach the weight of his sister’s words.

“I’ve got a team back out at where she disappeared from looking for any useful hints that were missed during the search yesterday, also tracking through _her_ mission path to see if there was anything elsewhere that the storm hasn’t already destroyed.”

It wasn’t a lot, but Qrow could accept that it was a _start_. 

* * *

“I’ve noticed you really aren’t carrying the flask around.” 

“No, I’m not. I really did quit, Tai.”

They were prepping for that day’s missions, having already sat through the break down of who was going to be where at what times. 

“I never thought I’d see the day.”

Qrow snorted. “Neither did I. Withdrawal _really_ sucked, but it’s… it’s been worth it.” Ruby’s smile, James saying he was proud. Less of Taiyang looking at him with _that_ look. 

“I’m proud of you, Qrow.”

“Thanks.” He offered Taiyang a fractional smile. It felt different, hearing that from _Tai_ than it had, hearing it from James. 

It wasn’t perfect, nothing ever was. But he was doing better every day, and despite the tenseness of the Taiyang’s entrance to Atlas, things had quickly gone back to normal. They were family, in a way that maybe he and Raven even weren’t, anymore. It was good to know that Tai still had his back. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't make up for the long gap, but I can give you this! ♥

The first thing Ruby was aware of was a throbbing pain in her head, and a much _much_ more persistent pain in her left leg. Her eyes remained closed against the pain. She was laying on something hard and it was cold, but not as cold as she expected from the tundra of Solitas.

She shifted slightly and the pain in her leg shot all the way to her thigh and she whimpered, curling back up immediately.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up.” The feminine voice was unfamiliar to Ruby, but it sent a shiver down her spine. There was something… about it. 

She forced her eyes to open and found herself gazing up at the woman she had seen only in Emerald’s illusion from Haven. Ruby’s blood ran cold as she struggled to push herself into a sitting position despite the pain in her leg.

She set her back against the wall, but she was sitting up, at least.

Salem merely watched a look of placid amusement on her face. “Tyrian was a little rougher with you than I’d hoped…No matter. You’re awake now.”

Ruby _tried_ to speak. Tried to ask what Salem wanted from her. The words didn’t come, and the buzzing in her mind made it too hard to force them to come out. She hadn’t had a lock down like this since before Signal but… unfortunately - maybe fortunately? - Ruby recognized it for what it was.

She stopped trying to form words, and merely watched the woman.

“Nothing to say? A shame, really. But, no matter, we’ll have plenty of time to talk. Be sure to eat a little at least. It’s been a few days since you were brought here.”

Days? Where was here? She didn’t try to ask, instead looking uncertainly towards the food and the pitcher of watch that were sitting not far from her. 

“I wouldn’t try to stand up quite yet. The fusion isn’t quite complete.”

Fusion? Ruby looked confused, and Salem merely laughed before turning and leaving the cell.

Her clothing had been changed while she was unconscious. What she wore was a long red dress, instead of her skirt and corset. Ruby frowned, the way the skirt was draped she couldn’t see the injuries on her lower leg. She remembered distinctly the way it had been mangled during the fight.

Remembered Tyrian slamming her head against the tree trunk and the world going black.

Was her team okay? And Qrow? No one had come when she asked for help. No one had answered her distress signal.

She was alone. Ruby glanced dubiously at the food and water beside her again. She was hungry, and thirsty, but she wasn’t sure she dared trust the food left for her by _Salem_. Despite the risks, Ruby knew starvation or dehydration were even more dangerous than potential poison, given she had no idea how long she would be here. Hesitantly she sipped at the water. It tasted fine, completely normal.

She drank a little more, but left the food for the moment, stomach feeling queasy from the pain. At least she thought it was the pain.

Speaking of the pain… Ruby pulled up the skirt on her dress carefully. And then horror set in. The noise she made was strangled, not quite a scream and smothered by her hand pressed over her mouth.

Horror and revulsion flared within her and her instinct was to destroy it. To remove it. To get the black foreign limb off of her. Away from her. But it was _part_ of her now. Nausea rose, and she swallowed tightly against it. 

Ruby forced herself to breathe slowly, trying to calm herself and dropping the skirt to hide the Grimm replacement in place of her lower left leg. 

“Is someone there?”

The voice was familiar, and it jarred Ruby out of her horror slightly. “Pro-” The word died on her lips, and Ruby took a slow, deep breath, insisting she calm down. “Professor Ozpin?” She managed softly, having pushed herself as close to the door to her cell as she could manage.

“Miss Rose.”

Ruby let out a quiet sob, she couldn’t help it. Everything felt like it was coming crashing down at once, she could barely breathe. Ozpin murmured quietly, but the words didn’t register. Maybe they weren’t supposed to. 

She didn’t know how long the world slipped away and spun and threatened to shatter. Didn’t know how long she cried, how long she spent as a frightened child instead of the warrior she was supposed to be. 

Certainly Ruby didn’t know why it was _Ozpin’s_ voice that threw her over the edge except for the fact that she’d been clinging to it precariously to begin with. 

“I wish I could say it was going to be alright, Ms Rose.” Ozpin’s voice was quiet. 

“I appreciate you not lying to me, Professor.” She managed with a few sniffles. 

“Ozpin’s fine.” They were, after all, quite far from the school. And maybe 

It felt strange, the idea of calling him by just a first name. Ruby didn’t say anything for a bit and then, quietly, “Then you should probably just call me Ruby.”

She heard what might have been a short laugh, cut off by a quiet coughing. “I suppose I should.”

Time was nothing in this place. Tracking it seemed nearly impossible. She and Ozpin spoke here and there, in an attempt to pass the time. 

* * *

“Is this _really_ the best you can do?” The feminine voice dripped with contempt.

Ruby was on the floor, on her hands and knees, having fallen when her balance failed yet again. Slowly, painstakingly, Ruby rose back onto two feet. She wavered, leaning most of her balance on her right leg as the left spasmed violently. 

“You really are useless today.”

Ruby glared at her for a second, eyes narrowing, but then she dropped her gaze back to the floor and tried to shift her weight over onto the left leg again. Pain shot up into her thigh, and she grit her teeth against it. 

But this time, Ruby remained standing. Hesitantly she tried to take a step, and it seemed she would manage, until all her weight went onto her left side and her knee refused to hold her.

Again she hit the floor, being too far from a wall to catch herself on it.

Salem scoffed and gestured slightly before turning and walking away, leaving Ruby on the floor in the middle of the space.

The large man - Hazel, she thought his name was? - that they’d fought in Haven grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet. Ruby barely resisted the urge to shrink away from his touch. Before she knew it, Ruby had been returned to her cell. 

“Tell me, Ruby. What’s your favorite fairy tale?”

It was meant to be a distraction from her pain, Ruby knew. Still, she was quiet for a moment as she slowly made her way across the cell until she was leaning against the wall that joined to his. “Briar Rose.” She answered finally, after several moments.

“Hm. Is that so?” Ozpin sounded curious. 

“When I was a little girl, Uncle Qrow read it to me.” It was probably best to keep calling him that, until she’d sorted through what exactly the truth _was_ and also how she _felt_ about it. “Briar Rose, cursed to sleep while her powers slowly destroyed her home village with vines and thorns that knocked anyone who touched them into the same dreamless sleep.” Ruby’s voice was quiet. “But one day, someone who was immune to the thorn’s touch came. It is said that they were immune because they had goodness in their heart, and had no ill-intentions toward the sleeping girl. She was woken by their touch, and together they freed the village from it’s curse.”

Ruby realized then that he’d probably _heard_ the story before, and was more curious why she enjoyed that one in particular. “It’s silly, I know, but I always liked it because I imagined that maybe mom wasn’t… gone. She was just waiting for the right person to find her and help her. Then we could fix it.”

As she spoke her hands carefully massaged the still-human part of her left leg, trying to work out some of the cramping that was still happening even though she was off of it.

“Quite the choice.” He didn’t sound bothered by the fact that she’d spoken at length about a story he probably knew quite well.

“What’s yours?”

“I don’t really have a favorite.” Ozpin admitted mildly. “But I do believe that the stories one gravitates to says a lot about them.” There was a pause, and then “Have you ever heard The Old Soul?”

“No, I haven’t.” 

Ozpin set to telling a story about a man who was cursed to be reborn again and again until a task was completed, without any guidance being offered as to _how_ to complete the task. Ruby thought it sounded like a terrible way to live. She was quiet through the telling, frowning to herself. 

Finally the story ended, with only the sense that the man would continue to be reincarnated with no real closure. 

“That’s…” Ruby trailed off, not sure what to say. “I can see why it’s not one Dad or Uncle Qrow ever read to me.” That wasn’t a happy ending, and by the time Ruby had been old enough to appreciate that kind of story, she was well beyond being read to sleep. 

She did wonder why Ozpin chose to share it with her, and for the moment remained quiet, considering what he’d said about how the stories people were drawn to said something about them.

What did _that_ story say about Ozpin? What did Briar Rose say about her? 

It gave her something better to think about than the impossible position they found themselves in. It was better to think about than the fact that she had no idea where this place was, or if she would ever see her family or team again. 

The reality that she may never even see the sky again was too much to focus on.

It was easier to listen to Ozpin, and think on his words. Much, much easier. Unfortunately it didn’t give Ruby any insight on how to escape. But neither could they talk about that - if it was even possible.

Sometimes there was a Grimm that floated in front of their cells. Ruby didn’t know if Salem actually controlled it or could see or hear what it did, but… she didn’t want to find out the hard way, either.

Besides, she could barely stand. Escaping would be _impossible_. 


	12. Chapter 12

“The longer she’s gone, the less likely we are to find her, James.”

“There’s a good chance there’s nothing to find, Qrow, and you know it as well as I do.”

Qrow growled slightly, and the urge to take a drink was stronger than it had been in quite some time. This is what he did, he got upset, he drank. On the other hand, he functioned better _not_ drunk, for obvious reasons. 

Before Atlas, it had been more than twelve years since he was _properly_ sober and not just hungover waiting for the next bottle. That was terrible to realize, honestly. 

He considered getting a drink _anyway_. Ruby’s look from that day, at Brunswick Farms came back to him, unbidden. That disappointed, upset look. And then, the Apathy crawling out of the basement, still on fire.

He’d been useless. He’d almost let them get killed. And maybe part of that was the Grimm, but he still should have been _better_ than that. 

No. He _had_ to stay sober. He had to do better than this. For Yang, for Ruby. He still hadn’t _told_ Ruby, like he’d always promised Summer he would. And now maybe he’d never have a chance.

“Qrow.”

“She’s just so damn young, James.” Qrow said quietly, but there was heat in his tone. 

“I know your niece means a lot to you-”

“She’s not my niece.”

“Er-” James sounded surprised, clearly not sure what to say. 

“She’s my daughter.” Qrow didn’t know why he told James that. He’d never told _anyone_ that sober. Ozpin knew, only because of one extreme drunken night; Taiyang knew because he knew he’d never slept with Summer before Ruby was born. But the words tumbled out and maybe he just didn’t want to _lie_ anymore. 

“…Oh.” There was a pause. “Does she know that?”

“No. Taiyang knows, of course. Raven probably guesses. Summer knew. I know. Ozpin knew. And now you.”

“But you never told Ms Rose?”

“She thinks Tai’s her dad. It’s better that way. I’m not-”

“She practically worships the ground you walk on, Qrow.”

“And she shouldn’t!” Qrow snapped back. “I’ve done so many terrible things. I’m a curse, James. And I couldn’t _save her_. Or Summer. Or Ozpin’s fall maiden - either of them. _Or Ozpin_!”

James sat back in his chair slightly, watching the other man.

Qrow was teetering on a ledge, it felt like. One breath could cause him to fall all too easily. Qrow’s hands shook slightly, he closed them tightly enough to turn his knuckles white, and sat back himself, watching James. 

“Sometimes there are things we cannot do.” James said it quietly, keeping his voice carefully level in an attempt to draw Qrow back from that ledge. “All we can do is the best we can, and that’s all you’ve ever done.”

“Well maybe my best just isn’t damn well good enough.” Qrow growled, fingers running through his hair, catching and pulling on it, though the man didn’t seem to care.

James frowned, recognizing the action for what it was. “Stop that.”

Qrow’s hands dropped back into his lap, and he sighed. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Right now all we can do is pick up the pieces and keep moving forward.”

Qrow _really_ hated that idea. And yet, there wasn’t anything else to do, was there? “I don’t understand why Salem wanted her alive.”

“I hope we never have to learn the answer to that question.” James said flatly. “For all of our sakes.” James sighed, glancing at the clock. “I have a meeting I have to get to. Try to get some rest, Qrow.”

“I think I’m going to find the Ops and see if they have something for me to _do_.”

James didn’t argue, instead merely shooing the other huntsman out of his office before leaving. 

The last council meeting before the election tomorrow. James… wasn’t looking forward to it. 

* * *

Qrow’s scroll was going off. They’d been forcibly given the afternoon and evening off, all of the kids, and himself too. James had been firmly insistent that they needed it. Qrow had been reading, and drifted off unexpectedly. He didn’t help that he’d been sleeping like shit.

His scroll stopped buzzing for a second, and then _immediately_ began again, just as insistent as before. Qrow frowned, grabbing it off the side table and staring down at it before hitting the accept call button.

“Mantle is rioting. There are Grimm everywhere. I don’t want to ask, but I don’t have a choice. We need all hands on deck.”

“James what happened?” Qrow asked, rolling out of bed and grabbing for Harbinger.

“Jacques Schnee won the election, and there was an attack at Robyn Hill’s rally. They think it was Penny - she didn’t. It had to have been someone else, but they _think_ she did, and that makes it too dangerous for her to help in the attacks right now. There are 9 people dead and if we can’t get the grimm attack under control, there will be countless more.”

“I’m going. What sector needs the most support right now?”

“Sector six is being hit the hardest at this time.”

“Then that’s where I’ll head.”

“Wait there’s a transport-”

“Jimmy.” There was a slight pause. “Do you really think I need a transport? I’ll be there faster without one.”

There was silence for several seconds. “Fine, fine. But be careful.”

Qrow laughed, it was a slightly bitter sound, “This is me we’re talking about.” He hung up the scroll before James could respond. 

It wasn’t long before Qrow had transformed, gliding down from Atlas into Mantle. He dove into attacking the second he caught sight of Grimm. It was going to be a long, long night.

But at least this was the kind of work Qrow was always capable of doing.

* * *

The two of them were pressed close together in the crowd. The music was loud, loud enough Yang couldn’t have _spoken_ to Blake if she’d wanted to, but thankfully words weren’t necessary.

It had been hard, convincing herself that she could take a night off while Ruby was still missing, but Ironwood had made a strong argument for the fact that the night of rest wouldn’t make a difference. They needed this, Yang realized.

Still, something wasn’t sitting quite right, and Yang could only assume with was worry for her younger sister, out there alone somewhere. 

Her scroll was buzzing, she felt it in her pocket. From the look on Blake’s face, hers was going off too. A glance at the screen told Yang it was a distress call. A call to battle. 

Yang took the lead, pushing through the crowd of people who didn’t yet know there was trouble. Blake kept close, within the wake that Yang created. Finally they stepped out into night air. 

The roars of rioting and Grimm echoed through the darkness. Yang shivered, reminded all too sharply of that night in Beacon. 

“I guess it’s a good thing you brought Ember Celica with us. … I don’t have Gambol Shroud though.”

“Call it in.” Yang said quietly, breathing steadily. “I’ll keep an eye on things while you do. Then we can get started.”

Blake nodded and did just that. A few moments later team FNKI made their way out onto the street with them. The team either paused to call in their weapons or ran down the street to join the battle. Yang didn’t pay attention. They could take care of themselves. 

That Grimm through… She darted forward, charging in as she activated Ember Celica. The sabyr was dead almost before it realized she was there. There was another not far away that turned on her as immediately. Yang braced herself and continued to fight.

It was only a few moments longer before Blake joined her, attacking one of the Beowolves that approached. 

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, Marrow had already begun to fight, along with Ren and Nora. The battle became heated rapidly, and the three of them spread out to cover as much distance as they could. 

There wasn’t time to talk about what had happened here. There wasn’t time to argue about whether or not Penny was guilty, or if they really _had_ seen a familiar figure attacking people in the darkness. 

There wasn’t time, there were 9 dead, and maybe there would be far more by dawn if they weren’t careful. 

Jaune joined them shortly thereafter. 

“Inside.” Ren said, pausing slightly. “There was at least one wounded who isn’t dead. Maybe they’ll let you help.” 

Jaune looked conflicted for a moment before going into the building the Rally had been held in. He wasn’t prepared for what he saw, the carnage, the blood all over the floor. 

“What do you want?” Robyn growled, violet eyes flashing as she crouched beside the fallen huntress on the stage.

“My semblance… it lets me heal. I was told I might be able to help here.” Jaune sounded uncomfortable, uncertain. 

Robyn seemed to consider the words, and he half expected her to send him away. Instead the blond woman nodded once, jerkily, and the huntresses who’d been threatening him backed off to let him pass. 

Jaune recognized some of the dead as the women who’s children he’d been escorting to school. He went a little paler, but began to move forward anyway. He sat on the edge of the stage and took a moment to examine the injury before holding a hand out over the Faunus’ form.

Jaune began to glow, and then, so did Fiona. It felt the same as it had the first time, with Weiss, the slight warm sensation of his aura pulsing out and meeting hers, and then melding with it, strengthening it. 

“You … weren’t kidding.”

“This would be a really bad time to lie.” Jaune pointed out in a low voice. The wound was starting to close under his hands, but it would take time. 

“Still, I think it’s more than healing. You’re… amplifying her aura.”

Jaune nodded slightly. “It was like that the first time, too. But the effect is the same.” In the end at least, she would be healed and that was the part that had been important to explain. The details didn’t seem like something the huntress-turned-politician would be interested in.

“Fiona?”

“Where is he? The one that attacked us-” The huntress started to sit up and Jaune pulled his hand away from her body as she did so.

“It was Penny, Fiona.”

“No, it wasn’t. It was a man. A Faunus with a scorpion tail-” She paused, seeing the uncertain look Robyn was giving her, and looked uncomfortable. 

“When the lights came up, Penny was standing over us with her swords active.” Robyn said softly. “Never mind the video.” Her voice was gentle. “I don’t want to believe it either but…”

“Penny’s swords _glow_ Robyn. There was no glow in the crowd when the attack started. I would have seen it. Penny was on the stage with us _the whole time_.” There was a pause, and then in a stronger voice, Fiona continued, “I know what I saw.”

“Man with a scorpion tail, you said?”

“Yes. Why?” Fiona turned her attention to him.

“Just… almost sounded like a guy that attacked my friends and I. But that was back in Mistral.” It seemed unlikely that _Tyrian_ was here, right? Especially with the embargo. Jaune shook his head. “I should probably rejoin the fight outside. It doesn’t sound like it’s any calmer.”

He didn’t wait for the huntress’ to react before turning and leaving as he’d stated he was going to. 

* * *

The battle raged on in the chilly night air. The screams of rioters because screams of terror as grimm flooded the streets and flew over the buildings. Huntsman scattered throughout the area, doing their best to minimize the impact of the Grimm on innocent lives. 

General Ironwood deployed soldiers to assist where there weren’t enough huntsman, and also sent in third and fourth year student teams to assist in the city. Even with the additional hands on deck, the fight was difficult, and it was lengthy. Every time it seemed they’d gotten the sectors under control, more Grimm appeared.

At some point Taiyang and Raven had been fighting alongside him. Qrow wasn’t sure where either one of them had gone. 

It didn’t matter, it was safer for Qrow to fight alone. It was always safer for him to fight alone. 

Of course, as he _thought_ that, he realized that he’d been joined by the group of huntress’ that they’d run into on the Tundra, during one of the supply runs. 

Qrow moved somewhat away from them, only half mindful of the way they moved and more concerned with keeping his semblance from interfering with them than anything else. His concern was with the Grimm, not with _whatever_ happened with the election.

The night wore on, and finally dawn began to break around them. By the time dawn started to break, the Grimm seemed to be starting to slow down. 

Qrow ripped through yet another Sabyr, and paused a second to wipe the sweat out of his eyes. For the moment, no more Grimm seemed to be appearing from this direction. For the moment, Harbinger was set back on the magnetic clip. 

His scroll began to buzz, the message was text, directing huntsman who had been out since the end of the election to fall back to a specific location. Qrow frowned at the message for a moment, but did obey it.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the designated area - and he was surprised to see that James was actually _here_ in Mantle, rather than overseeing the situation from Atlas proper. He was _also_ surprised to see Robyn’s huntress’ gathering in the area. Some of the soldiers were passing out water bottles and protein bars. And then the soldiers disappeared, leaving only a small cluster. Or, comparatively small at least. Jaune, Ren, Nora, Weiss, Yang, Blake, the Ace Ops, himself, James, and the Happy Huntresses. … What a name that was. 

Qrow kept that particular thought to himself. It wasn’t very polite, and he didn’t really want to start a fight. 

James waved him over, and Qrow moved closer to the General. By the time he arrived, Nora had already engaged in an argument with the man.

“She deserves to know.” Nora said flatly. “We know what we saw, and if Tyrian is still here and targeting her people, she _deserves_ to know what the hell is going on.”

“Now isn’t the time to introduce yet another unknown into the equation.” Ironwood defended calmly. “She will learn when everyone else does.”

“That’s not good enough! You can’t expect her to keep helping while staying in the dark! Mantle is hurting, of course she wants to protect it! And maybe she’s right that it’s more important than the tower right this second.”

Instead of responding, James looked up at Qrow, and Qrow could tell by his expression he was looking for backup.

“I actually agree with Nora.” Qrow said quietly. “I think Robyn and the Huntress’ should be brought on board with what’s going on. Salem and the Tower both. We need their help in Mantle, _especially_ after Jacques won the election. The people of Mantle trust her in a way they never will trust us. _Especially_ not with her directly opposing us.” Qrow sighed, and then looked up properly to meet James’ gaze. “If we’re going to do this, and survive the fall out, we will need more than just us. Martial law won’t calm the people’s turmoil. Maybe she can.”

It was probably more than Qrow had said in one go in a long time, but he could tell James was at least _considering_ his input, and that was frankly enough for Qrow. 

“Ms Valkyrie, send Mr Arc over. You’ve made your point, but I want to talk to team leaders. Send Weiss as well.” 

Nora nodded and went to do that, Clover seemed to all but _sense_ the summons and approached on his own, ending up on one side of Qrow. 

“Are you sure about this, Qrow?” James asked quietly, waiting for Jaune and Weiss to come over.

“I said what I said, James.”

“Sure about what?” Clover asked.

“Telling Robyn everything.”

“That could back fire in a big way.”

“Sure, it could.” Qrow allowed. “But Mantle _does_ like her and having her working with us instead of against us would certainly be preferable. Every time we are divided like this, like Mantle and Atlas _are_ Salem finds it easier to put her claws in.” There was an air of ‘I’ve been fighting this war longer than you’ve been an active huntsman’ in the way Qrow _looked_ at Clover before looking back at James. “I can’t force you to make this choice, and I wouldn’t dream of it, but I think you should consider it very strongly, James.”

“Hill, could you come here a moment?” James raised his voice slightly and several looked in his direction. 

Robyn looked _mistrustful_ Qrow thought, but she approached alone anyway, joining the half-ring around James. Jaune and Weiss had fallen into place on Clover’s other side, which put Robyn next to _him._

“What do you want, General?”

“Quick discussion between team leaders.” His tone was even. Behind him a scroll projected a map of Mantle, each sector currently highlighted in gray. 

“I’m not one of your teams.”

“You are an active Huntress in the middle of a crisis.”

Robyn couldn’t argue with that, but her glare didn’t soften. 

“I’ll try and keep this brief, but I do want a report of anything unusual that was noticed on the streets during the night. But before that, there are a few things that you should be told.” James’ eyes were on Robyn as he spoke. 

“I’d like to add my concern that this isn’t the time or place for this conversation.” Clover said quietly. “If you insist on disregarding my concern that it’s a bad idea to _begin_ with.”

“There may not be another chance.” Qrow said flatly. “Not if her people are _already_ in Mantle.”

“Her people?” Robyn questioned, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Qrow looked to James who nodded once, “You may.”

“Take my hand while you explain. It’ll speed things up.” 

Qrow’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her outstretched hand.

“Her semblance lets her know if you’re telling the truth. Nothing more, nothing less.” Clover answered the question that Qrow had not yet formed. 

“Hmph.” Qrow took the outstretched hand, his concerns allayed by the explanation. Better that she _know_ he wasn’t lying than have ten thousand questions and still not trust him.

He kept the explanation as succinct as possible, but there were a few things that needed to be elaborated on. By the time Qrow had finished, he was no longer able to really be _sure_ of how this Robyn Hill was taking the new information. He covered Salem and the ages long silent war with her, and briefly he also covered the plans for Amity Arena to become a new communications tower.

Before they could continue the conversation though, the map between Ironwood suddenly had four districts turn red, closest to the Wall.

They all heard the alert come in within seconds of that happening.

“ _A Grimm hit the wall and knocked a portion of it down. More Grimm are flooding into the streets, and the Wyvern is circling back to strike again. Requesting back up.”_


	13. Chapter 13

Ruby could reliably walk on the Grimm leg now. Her aura didn’t extend into it, which made it a serious weak point, and she’d found more than once that Salem - or perhaps the strangely shaped Grimm that followed the woman from time to time - seemed to be able to manipulate the limb independent of her will. _That_ was a terrifying experience. 

She didn’t know how long it had taken her to figure out how to balance her weight on the foreign limb. Certainly it had been long enough that Salem had _obviously_ considered merely casting her out and letting the Grimm deal with her.

Ruby still wondered why she didn’t. Salem had yet to give her any indication of _why_ she’d been taken alive instead of just being killed by Tyrian. And yet, Ruby was terrified of finding out that _why_. 

Her movements were still a little slow, and less coordinated than Ruby liked, she noted as she moved around the space in her cell. But she _could_ walk, and it was only slightly painful now. 

Salem hadn’t come for her in several days. She didn’t know why. Part of her was glad, but another part was… worried, more than anything. After all, if Salem was distracted with _her_ then she wasn’t actively causing problems for her team in Atlas. Or at least, that was what Ruby _hoped._

At least, Ruby _thought_ it had been days. It was actually rather hard to tell, since she couldn’t see the sky here. The injuries from her fight with Tyrian had healed, which told her it’d been a little time, at least. Even the amputation site was mostly healed … though Ruby tried not to think about _that_ often. The sight of her now-grimm leg still filled Ruby with some horror. 

She’d overheard Salem taunting Ozpin. Ozma, she’d called the headmaster. The Grimm Queen had spoken familiarly with him. Ruby hadn’t heard any of Ozpin’s responses, but something about it all stuck in her mind. Ruby tried not to think too much of it. But it was hard not to when she didn’t really have anything else to occupy her mind with.

Ruby tried to call forward her semblance. Doing so resulted in a few steps and her landing awkwardly on the stone floor.

Okay. Not possible yet. 

_Maybe not possible ever_ with the way her Aura didn’t properly extend into the limb anymore. She tried not to think about that anymore.

But it didn’t matter anyway, did it? They were never going to find her here. And Ruby wouldn’t _want_ them to because it would put them directly in conflict with Salem. And she didn’t think her team could handle that. And frankly Ruby didn’t want them to _try_ and couldn’t face the idea of the consequences they may face if they _did_ try to reach her here. 

Ruby couldn’t stand the thought of being the reason something happened to her team. 

Why had Salem called Ozpin “Ozma” anyway? Idly Ruby’s mind drifted back to their talk of fables as she slowly, carefully picked herself back up off the floor, and dusted off her long skirt. 

Balance the weight on both legs, now carefully… Ruby tested the Grimm limb uncertainly before taking a hesitant step forward. The fall hadn’t done her any harm it seemed.

The Old Soul. Well Qrow had framed the Tale of the Two Brothers and the Four Seasons as things that had really happened. Could The Old Soul be real, too? She’d wondered what it told her about Ozpin, but maybe she was looking at it wrongly. Maybe he was telling her that _he_ was the Old Soul. Just like the Four Maidens were real. 

Was this war with Salem that seemingly impossible task?

“Professor Ozpin?” Ruby asked quietly as she approached the edge of the wall that joined their cells.

There was silence from the other side. Ruby waited there for a moment, listening intently. He must have been asleep - that was a good thing, he needed the rest, too. 

Ruby turned away from the wall then and moved back towards the rear of her cell. Maybe it didn’t matter. It wasn’t as if she could dare _ask_ him if he was the Old Soul. No, what she’d been about to ask was childish.

The answer served no purpose - Ruby already knew it. No, he wouldn’t think there was a way out of here. He’d been here since the Fall of Beacon, after all. A whole year of entrapment. 

If _he_ hadn’t been able to get out, Ruby didn’t think she would succeed where he’d failed.

* * *

“Come, little Rose, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Ruby jerked awake at the sound of the voice in the doorway of her cell. _Salem_ she knew before she opened her eyes, still as she set eyes upon the Grimm Queen a chill ran down her spine.

Ruby picked herself up carefully. Salem seemed pleased by her new-found balance, "Good, good. I was hoping you would be ready for the next phase of your training.”

Her… training?

Ruby didn’t ask, as she stepped out of the cell to join Salem in the walkway. She did glance towards Ozpin’s cell, and caught him sitting against the wall farther away from her cell, eyes more than half-closed. Ruby couldn’t tell if he was watching them, or if he was even awake. 

“Come now.” Salem’s voice had turned cold, and Ruby lowered her head and gaze slightly, but followed Salem obediently. 

The room she was led to was the large circular space where Salem had originally been forcing her to learn to walk. Within the space was a feminine figure of about her height wearing a floor length white dress and a white hooded cloak that shadowed her face and fully concealed her arms beneath it. 

Salem gestured for Ruby to continue forward, but stopped in the doorway herself, as if to observe.

Ruby approached the center of the space slowly. One of the white figure’s hands appeared from under the cloak and pointed towards a weapons rack against the far wall - a sword was set upon the rack, clearly waiting for her.

Ruby moved to take the weapon into her hands, a thrill of fear sliding down her back. Training? And a sword? What was Salem _doing_ with her? Certainly the Grimm Queen knew Ruby would never follow her?

Refusal at the moment would earn her nothing. Ruby retreated to the center of the space, the familiar weight of a blade in her hands. She hadn’t fought with a sword - other than a short stint with that one of Penny’s, she remembered with a stab of pain in her chest - since her second year at Signal Academy. 

Signal had required she spend her first year-and-a-half studying standard weapons, Ruby had chosen the sword and staves as her two weapons classes while she designed her precious Crescent Rose. Ruby hoped it served her well now. 

There was a stillness that held into the moment. Ruby still couldn’t _really_ see underneath the cloak, with the way the lighting was in the room. Maybe it was better that she didn’t know. 

Ruby didn’t have time to analyze what the weapon in the figure’s hands _was_ before the other was suddenly upon her. Ruby narrowly managed to defend against the strike and stumbled back. Within moments the figure in white had knocked her down, and the sickle’s sharp edge rested against Ruby’s throat. 

The figure in white returned to her original position almost before Ruby had time to process what had happened.

Some kind of speed semblance? Or perhaps it was closer to teleportation, since Ruby didn’t have any time to process that she was _moving_ before she was there. And there was a sickle in each hand. There was an eerie familiarity that Ruby couldn’t put her finger on as she picked herself back up and returned to a defensive stance.

This time Ruby noted the appearance of white and red rose petals as the figure darted towards her. Ruby managed to predict where she would appear and defended against it, stepping out of the path of the attack and striking back as well as she could. 

White and red - suddenly the sickle in the figure’s left hand shot towards her, a chain rapidly extending.

Ruby sprang backwards, narrowly avoiding it despite her distraction, but landed badly. The grimm leg refused to hold her, and she went down. She managed to bring the blade up anyway, and the second sickle wrapped round the sword instead of _her_. 

Ruby remained frozen as she stared at the weapon that hung in her face now. The vine patterns etched into it were visible now, and there was a roaring in her ears as reality crashed around her.

 _Briar Rose_. Kusurigama with dust chambers, she knew almost instinctively. The chains had a way of channeling certain types of dust - usually electric - but the blades were most often backed with Ice instead. The _chains_ were razor edged and just as dangerous as the sickles themselves were. 

Why did this specter in white have Briar Rose?

Ruby didn’t want the answer to that question, did she? The chains retracted abruptly, yanking the sword out of Ruby’s fingers and leaving it on the ground a bit away.

The girl trembled, afraid of the reality that was forming before her. Unwilling to believe it, unwilling to to even _entertain_ it. 

But she couldn’t _deny_ it either, could she? Ruby picked herself up again and stooped to retrieve her sword. It _could_ be someone else fighting with Briar Rose, but that wouldn’t explain the rose petals. 

In her heart she knew, and that was the worst part. 


	14. Chapter 14

Jaune, Ren, and Nora had been left with Robyn’s team to assist in evacuating citizens from the affected area. Qrow didn’t think the range they were evacuating was going to be big enough, personally, but it was a good start. 

The Wyvern had yet to come within striking distance, but it had taken out pieces of the wall twice now. Grimm actively flooded through the gaps in the wall, leaving the defenders to do their best to keep them back. 

_This_ was probably the highest up the list of worst case scenarios Qrow could have come up with, with so many of them absolutely drained from dealing with the riots and grimm attacks. To say they didn’t have enough _left_ for this was hardly an understatement - and yet they had no choice. Qrow concentrated on the grimm closest to him, and just _hoped_ it would be enough.

The Wyvern made a third approach. This time it landed among the defenders, it’s tail knocking a wider portion of the wall away. Qrow swore under his breath as he sliced through another sabyr with Harbinger’s scythe form. 

“James we’re going to need to widen the evacuation area. Wyvern’s landed and took out a line of buildings in the process.”

Qrow didn’t wait for a response, instead moving to continue fighting to approach the Wyvern itself. 

Qrow could hear James giving orders to widen the area and knew that somewhere out there Yang and the rest of Ruby’s team was doing their best to help out. 

Taiyang appeared on his right suddenly. “Have you seen Raven?”

“Nope. Lost track of her hours ago.” Qrow hadn’t tried particularly hard to find her, to be honest. He’d had more important things on his mind, like making sure civilians weren’t ripped apart here. 

Some part of him had known not to expect Raven to stick around. He wished it wasn’t true, but… well, there were a lot of things Qrow wished weren’t true. It was, however, disappointing because she would have been helpful even _without_ considering her maiden abilities. 

Taiyang stuck nearby, engaging grimm and generally pressing towards the much larger grimm that was currently mostly engaged in combat with the Ace Ops. They were good, but Qrow wondered if it would be _enough_. 

They’d have to hope it would be.

Finally he and Tai were close enough to assist with the Wyvern, and that was what they did. 

_“Continue civilian evacuation to sector four. Transports will be moving civilians from that sector into Atlas_.”

Into Atlas? It surprised Qrow that James would go so far, and it made him wonder just _how bad_ things were in the rest of the city. He knew there was military and a number of Huntsman teams down, were they having that much trouble controlling the flow of Grimm?

 _Clearly_ they were. 

They were barely denting the Wyvern, and up it wasn’t hard to imagine why. It was _huge_ with large plates of bone. _Perhaps_ it could be wounded in the softer underbelly and throat regions but getting there… with those claws and teeth - never mind the _tail_. 

“We need to ground it.” Qrow said quietly, though he activated his comm so the rest of the Ace Ops heard the message. “If it goes up again, we’ll have an even harder time.”

“You got a plan for that, Qrow?” Clover responded back almost immediately. “‘Cause we’re barely able to get close enough to scratch it.”

He and Raven could have done it, with careful usage of their bird forms and transforming back at the right times, but with his semblance he wasn’t sure about trying it alone. 

“We’ll take the right wing.” Yang suddenly appeared beside him. “The three of us can handle it, I’m sure of it. Take the left side with the Ace Ops. Even if Marrow can’t get his semblance to work on it, there are other options.”

“Yang that’s incredibly-”

“Dangerous sure.” Yang cut across him by finishing his sentence. “But so is letting it get above us again. Come on Weiss, Blake. Let’s get this done.”

The other two girls followed Yang as she circled around the Wyvern, staying out of range for the moment. Qrow didn’t like that she was right. 

He took a slow breath and released it. “Clover can you come work point with Taiyang?”

Clover didn’t answer, merely signaling for his team to continue with their own positions, and moving to join Qrow and Taiyang near the wyvern’s head. 

“What are you going to do?”

“Take on the left wing, apparently. Yang, Weiss and Blake are taking on the right.”

“They have a plan?”

“One would assume.” Qrow trusted Yang well enough to know she wouldn’t try something like this without a solid plan already in her mind. 

“Do you?”

Qrow rolled his eyes. “Just try and keep the head busy. If you can injure the under side in the process, go for it. Leave the wing to me.”

“Yang?”

“We’re in place if you’re ready.”

“Go.”

He transformed as the word left his mouth flying up over the wyvern. The wings flared slightly, crashing against the buildings along the street. Ice dust activated and trapped the right wing. 

There wasn’t time for Qrow to watch any longer, he dropped down over the left wing drawing and activating Harbinger as he did so. The blade pierced the thin membrane of the wing between the supporting bone structure. It was easy to cut through here, and Qrow dragged it all the way across the width of the wing.

Qrow transformed again and flew upward intending another pass over a different portion of the wing.

Movement on the right side caught his attention. Blake was in the air, swinging by her weapon’s ribbon. The bladed edge was ripping through the membrane just as easily as Harbinger had. 

Too slow to react, he saw the head turn towards Blake. The girls seemed to have been prepared for the reality that Taiyang and Clover may not be able to keep its attention.

A glyph appeared and Blake used it for leverage, a clone was left behind clearly infused with dust. The wyvern bit into the clone which exploded on contact. It didn’t do much damage, but it was enough to buy Blake time to land beside her team.

The right wing ripped free from the ice dust then, but not without damaging the membrane further. 

The tail lashed viciously and Harriet narrowly avoided being slammed into part of the remaining wall by using her semblance.

Qrow landed then, satisfied with the damage they’d managed to inflict on the wings for the moment. It was far from enough. Dealing with the wyvern was still a _massive_ undertaking. 

Still, if it stayed on the ground it couldn’t get quite as far into the city while they worked, they could buy the other teams more time to finish the evacuation. 

Qrow tried not to think about the reality that Mantle may be a lost cause before the end of the night.

The battle continued. More than once someone was sent flying back, crashing into the walls. They had to be careful, at least as careful as they could be - most of them were low on Aura and it was… dangerous. This was getting dangerous fast.

And yet they couldn’t back down, could they? Even if they were all critically low on Aura, they had to keep fighting because there was no one to pick up the slack if they had to back off. 

Qrow darted forward, transforming Harbinger to give himself more reach. The sharp edge of the extended scythe blade caught on the Wyvern’s neck, and surprisingly started to cut through.

Time seemed to slow as it turned on him fully. Clover was too far away to react, halfway down the body working with Marrow. Yang and the rest of her team were on the other side of the Grimm, and there Qrow was near the Wyvern’s shoulder. Unable to act in time.

Taiyang’s weight slammed into his side, a shove sending him to the ground rolling. But Tai had only been able to save one of them. The Wyvern’s jaws closed around the blond even as Qrow regained his feet.

Golden aura flickered over Taiyang’s prone form before the Wyvern bit down one final time and then tossed it’s head to throw the now-bloody figure away. Taiyang landed on the street not far from the fight, and didn’t make any attempt at rising.

Qrow’s blood ran cold. Without really thinking he moved to Taiyang’s side and half picked him up and carried him further away from the fight. He freed a hand and activated his comm system.

“James is there any way you can send us some back up?”

“What do you need?”

“Jaune if you can spare him, maybe.”

“I’ll see what I can arrange.” 

Qrow made a quiet noise of affirmation and let the comm link deactivate, leaving Taiyang where he was, hopefully out of harm’s way, but fully aware that _he_ was still needed in battle. Even if he was _quite_ certain that his semblance was only making things worse at this point.

Harbinger returned to sword form, and Qrow moved back towards the Wyvern.

Yang had moved into Tai’s place in the fight. Qrow wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but he also couldn’t make her change her mind, either. The older huntsman wouldn’t bother to try, not now.


	15. Chapter 15

“Professor Ozpin?”

“Ozpin is fine.” He reminded her gently. “But go on.” 

“If… someone you care about and respect a lot promised not to lie to you anymore, but then you found out that they kept something _really_ important from you… how would you approach them about it?” 

Ozpin had expected that _eventually_ they would get into stranger questions and perhaps more personal ones. Still he hadn’t quite anticipated a topic of this sort. It wasn’t hard for him to guess about what it was that brought it up. 

Though Ozpin _did_ wonder how she’d learned the truth in the first place, if she hadn’t already had a conversation with Qrow about it. Maybe he wouldn’t ask that directly.

“Well, Miss Rose… first I would consider the reasons they may have hidden such a thing from me. Sometimes there are good reasons. And sometimes… a lie is more comforting than the truth.”

He heard her noise of protest, but there was quiet from the other side of the wall for several moments. Ozpin held his silence, allowing her to consider his words for a moment before continuing. “Then I would consider how I found the truth out, and if they could have reasonably expected me to learn it that way, instead of from them directly.”

“I… don’t think it’s reasonable for him to have expected me to end up with mom’s scroll. But he still should have _told_ me. He promised.” 

There was anger in that tone, Ozpin thought. But there was something _else_ that the man was having a harder time pinpointing exactly. They’d both known that this was hardly hypothetical when she’d started to ask. Still, it had become very clear exactly what this was about.

Ozpin almost wished he’d been wrong. “I’m sure he had his reasons to hesitate to share. It must have been something big, to upset you this much.”

Ozpin could almost picture the way Ruby must be sitting, against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest. Expression pensive. In his mind’s eye, he could see her, just as he had more than once on the balcony at Beacon. 

He heard her sigh. “It’s just- I just. It changes everything.”

“Does it?” Ozpin challenged quietly, when she didn’t continue on her own.

“I- of course it does. My dad isn’t- Qrow isn’t-”

“But they still love you, don’t they?”

“…You knew.” It wasn’t an accusation, just a statement, Ozpin noted.

“I did, yes.” There was no reason to deny that _now_ now when she already knew. “It wasn’t mine to tell you.” And certainly he wouldn’t have done that to Qrow, at the very least. 

“How long?”

“He told me well before the night you and I met.”

There was another stretch of silence, and not for the first time, Ozpin wasn’t sure what to _say_ for the moment. Sometimes finding the right words was difficult, even now. “You _do_ know they both love you dearly, right, Miss Rose? This doesn’t change that. They have _always_ known this. It changes nothing about reality, just your perception of it.”

* * *

Ruby knew that, she did. She _knew_ that they loved her, Taiyang and Qrow both did. But it didn’t change the fact that it felt… like everything was crashing down around her, like everything she’d ever known was built on a lie because they hadn’t told her the truth. And maybe it _was_ all perception but it still hurt. 

It still left her completely without an idea of what to do or say or - and then again maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe she’d never get _out_ of here and never have the chance to talk to Qrow about it anyway.

That stung worse than trying to figure out what to say to him about it all.

“I guess you’re right.” It didn’t really answer all her questions, and it didn’t help her figure out what to _say_ to Qrow if they ever got out of here, but it did give her a bit of perspective on the situation and remind her that in the end she did have a family that loved her. And family wasn’t _always_ blood, either.

Their team had become family just as much as their _actual_ families were, in many ways. 

“I’m not saying you aren’t right to be a little upset. Just… try to remember that he had his reasons, Miss Rose, and that at the center of it all it doesn’t change that he loves you.”

“Thanks.” It wasn’t the first time she’d thanked him for listening to her, or for guiding her to a thought process that made things easier to deal with. It probably wouldn’t be the last.

There was a long, long pause where Ruby just leaned back against the wall with her eyes closed. She’d had to fight with Ivory a number of times since the first time. And she had yet to see the face beneath the hood. And yet… every time she faced the figure the reality set in a little more deeply.

Her mother was alive. But her mother was _here_. What had Salem done to her to make her a puppet? Why didn’t she ever say anything? _Could_ she say anything? Was she here of her own free will? _Was_ Salem controlling her?

“I think Ivory is Summer.” It felt strange to say it out loud. Saying it aloud seemed to make it _real_. But maybe there was no point in running from the reality anymore. 

“Is that so? I haven’t seen much of Ivory yet.”

“She fights with Briar Rose and sometimes she bursts into white and red rose petals and I didn’t want to… I didn’t want to believe it but I can’t think of anything else to explain it.”

It was Ozpin’s turn to be silent as he considered what Ruby said. “Well that is… unpleasant news.”

There wasn’t much else to say there, Ruby supposed. There wasn’t anything they could _do_ about the situation and there was no reason to speculate beyond it. Just, had she been here the whole time? What was Salem going to _do_ with her? 

What was going to happen if she was pitted against U- … Against Qrow, or Yang? Ruby didn’t want to think about it but she found she couldn’t help following the thought train. 

* * *

They were on an airship. Ruby wasn’t sure where, exactly, they were going - or why it involved her. But she was alone with Ivory, Emerald, and Mercury on the ship, and maybe that was more terrifying than anything else.

Salem hadn’t explained anything, of course. Had merely ordered her to _follow_ Ivory and the implication was that she’d understand what she was supposed to do when the time came. Ruby didn’t _like_ that idea, but some part of her thought - perhaps - this was a chance to get away, the kind of opening she’d never anticipated getting.

Of course, there were some problems with attempting it. She didn’t _like_ the idea of leaving Ozpin behind, but if she _could_ get away then maybe she could get enough help to save him, too.

There were other problems though, like Salem being able to control her grimm leg, and the fact that she couldn’t use her Semblance. But it was something Ruby would … consider, depending on where they ended up when the airship landed. Occasionally she glanced towards the figure dressed in white, wishing she could see _something_ that told her it wasn’t really Summer.

Or something that explained what Summer was doing here.

Emerald occasionally shot her nasty looks, and mostly Ruby just… shrank a little into her seat when she did. 

She was scared. Emerald had quite a grudge against her, and while Mercury didn’t he always wasn’t the kind of person Ruby particularly enjoyed crossing. She could fight one or the other of them, maybe, but both of them? Without Crescent Rose? With Ivory potentially prepared to step in at any second?

She wasn’t so confident of her odds.

Eventually the airship landed. They seemed to be on Solitas again, and Ruby wondered how long they’d been in the air for. It was bitterly cold, something Ruby noticed more or less immediately once they were off the ship.

She tried not to shiver.

There was a village in the distance, and that _seemed_ to be where they were going. Ruby didn’t like the feeling of this. She followed Ivory through the snow, Emerald and Mercury were somewhere behind her. 

They reached the edge of the village, and Ivory seemed to begin to emit a silvery fog. Grimm began to materialize around her within the fog. 

Horror crept up in Ruby’s heart as dozens of Grimm materialized and rushed into the quiet village. It wasn’t long before screams of horror and fear began.


	16. Chapter 16

Jaune had arrived shortly after Qrow’s request. Mostly the huntsman hoped that he hadn’t been pulled from anything too serious. But he trusted James to have the over-all best interest of the fight in mind. 

The blond had paused there beside Taiyang for a moment, had used his semblance to slow and stop most of the bleeding, and then he’d started to join the battle. Qrow signaled for him to wait. “Marrow, come here.” 

“My semblance can’t hold this thing.”

“Maybe not alone it can’t,” Qrow agreed evenly. “This is Jaune, you know Jaune. His semblance boosts other people’s aura. And in doing so, their semblances.” 

Marrow’s expression looked thoughtful as he considered the possibilities behind that statement.

“Just try. If it doesn’t work, there are some other options we can use. But if you can freeze it for just a few moments, it would buy us valuable time to set up a plan to kill it.”

Marrow still looked unsure, but he moved towards the Wyvern’s head with Jaune beside him. Jaune set one hand on the Faunus’ shoulder and activated his semblance, and then Marrow gave the command to _stay_ and froze. 

The Wyvern froze with him.

“Now!”

One of Weiss’ summons materialized and the blade of light bore into the beast’s soft flank. Elm released several powerfully explosive missile shots. Penny’s lasers hit it full blast while her blades _also_ swirled and cut at its body. 

Qrow drove Harbinger deep into the soft area below its throat where it had occasionally dropped live battle-ready grimm from.

These things all happened in the span of seconds. They _had_ to. 

But they _had_ damaged the beast. 

While her summon worked, Weiss _also_ used a significant amount of ice dust to trap both wings, to buy them a little extra time when Marrow _finally_ dropped his semblance.

Marrow moved. The Wyvern let out a vicious scream of rage and struggled against the ice dust - breaking it after a few moments, but injuring its wings further.

They’d _visibly_ wounded the beast. 

Its tail lashed, Blake was caught in the strike and sent flying, she slammed into part of the remaining wall, aura flicking across her skin. She didn’t immediately rise and return to the fight.

Yang’s eyes turned scarlet. 

“Firecracker.” 

Despite his warning tone, she darted forward, Burn fully active as she slammed her metal arm into the beast’s throat, narrowly avoiding its jaws as she did so. She’d had _quite_ a bit of energy stored from the events of the night, but the toll on her Aura was notable even so.

Marrow and Jaune regrouped, Marrow commanded the Wyvern to ‘stay’ again, and again the beast froze.

Yang left several of her explosive charges along the Wyvern’s underside.

The charges exploded and Weiss released a burst of Earth dust directly under the beast, turning them into sharp spikes straight upward.

Finally, _finally_ the Wyvern disintegrated. Yang broke away from them to check on Blake, who was finally starting to pick herself up off the ground on the far side of where the fight had taken place.

“Qrow-”

“Don’t.” Qrow said firmly. “Just worry about your team, Clover.” He turned on his heel and retreated to crouch down beside Taiyang, still unconscious from being caught in the beast’s jaws. Yang joined him only a few moments later, resting a hand on his shoulder without a word.

It was a short while later when Clover approached them despite Qrow’s words. The dark-haired huntsman glared at the younger man, but didn’t argue.

“A transport’s being diverted to come and get us. The majority of the civilians have been moved. Other teams are still working on that. Ironwood doesn’t want us to go back to it.”

They didn’t have enough left, so they’d only be liabilities at this point. It made sense. Qrow nodded numbly, not trusting his voice.

The Transport came and took them to the Academy, and Taiyang was taken into the medical ward more-or-less immediately. Blake went to be looked over as well, though she insisted she was fine. It was better to be safe than sorry. Most of them had injuries of various degrees. And none of them had the Aura left to take much of anything.

At first, Qrow remained within the waiting room. It was something small, really. Marrow knocking an open water bottle over and spilling the contents onto the floor, that was the last straw.

Qrow spun on his heel and stalked out, all too aware that his presence was making things worse. Especially with Clover currently reporting to James. 

* * *

“Where were you!?” Yang demanded, eyes scarlet again the second she saw Raven in the doorway. There was a pause and then she shook her head. “You know what, never mind. It doesn’t matter.” It really didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because she’d never really believed Raven would stay, never believed she would help.

But she’d made such a _show_ about being there, about regretting what had happened in Haven, about _planning to help_ them despite her misgivings. And the first time things got hard, she went away, just like she always did.

And she dared to come back? _After_ the disaster was over?

It was clear Raven considered not answering her. In the end, she didn’t. “Where’s Qrow?”

“Don’t know. He left a while ago.” Yang could guess. Could _assume_ that he’d probably decided that this was just too much and ended up getting drunk. Yang couldn’t entirely blame him. It’d been… a long two weeks, since Ruby was taken.

And it’d been a _really_ long night. 

“And Dad’s still in with the medical team. They haven’t told us anything yet.”

“What happened?” Raven sounded more concerned than Yang expected her to be.

“I didn’t really see. But the time I saw what was happening, he was in the Wyvern’s jaws with his aura breaking. It bit down again and then threw him to one side.” 

It was hard to say how much damage he’d really taken. Yang hadn’t seen him before Jaune healed him partially and hadn’t really _examined_ him even after she had joined Qrow beside his fallen form. It was _bad,_ and that was all she knew.

The Ace Ops had mostly gone on their way, presumably to rest. Blake and Weiss were sitting off to one side, waiting for her to settle back down with them, but Yang was full of energy and she knew why. Eventually it would work itself out, but maybe not until she knew about Taiyang. After that, she could rest.

Probably she’d send them back to their room soon. _Someone_ should be resting for whatever they woke up to next. Hopefully, the crisis had been broken up enough that when they woke up things would be in a rebuilding phase, but Yang wasn’t confident of that happening.

* * *

Raven had eventually left the medical ward’s waiting room. Seeking the General felt strange, but it didn’t take her particularly long to do. With him was that infuriatingly positive man - Clover? And the occasionally snotty Winter. 

It didn’t matter; she wasn’t here for them.

“The Fall Maiden is somewhere near the city. Possibly inside of it.” Raven said it in a tone that brooked no argument or discussion. “I had an altercation with her, it was enough to stop her from joining the attack on the citizens but I lost track of her afterward.”

Which, by the way, was infuriating. One second she’d been trying to make sure the bitch didn’t get _up_ again and the next she’d shattered like one of that pink and brown brat’s illusions. Which, of course, meant she was here too. 

“I just thought you should know _before_ she randomly appeared and caused issues in the future.”

So much for that embargo doing any good, yeah? Raven didn’t say it, though she was _thinking_ it pretty loudly. Ironwood’s expression was… hard for her to gage. She hadn’t worked with him the way Qrow always had. 

Still, she thought it was an appropriate level of concern for the issue. 

“Did they tell you-”

“About Taiyang? Yes. I heard.” Raven offered little in the way of her _thoughts_ or feelings about it. Like hell was she going to admit she was worried about Taiyang… Though she wondered how _exactly_ he’d ended up getting bitten. Surely he’d known his aura couldn’t take on _that much_ damage?

Yet, as she thought about it Raven realized he’d probably been protecting someone else, just like the idiot always was, without thinking about his own safety. That was just what Taiyang did, he had all the self-preservation instinct of a berserker. 

Only the strong survived, and while Raven had gone her separate ways from him, she could never have denied that Taiyang _was_ strong. 

“Is there anything else you would like to share?”

“Roman’s right hand, Neo Politan seems to be working with Cinder.”

“You saw her?”

“No, just the effects of her semblance. She avoids me.” Which, she was right to because if Raven ever got her hands on Neo she was _probably_ going to kill her.

No, Raven wasn’t upset about Neo attacking Yang, what would give anyone that idea?

* * *

The world had a slight haze to it and his thoughts were quieter and for the first time in about two months he felt _normal_.

… Granted, ‘normal’ included a heavy dose of self hatred. But when didn’t it, with Qrow? He was slumped against a wall in his quarters. Finding a liquor store that was open had been difficult, but he _had_ found one. He was most of the way through the bottle of Atlas’ best that he’d gotten his hands on.

He’d regret it in the morning, of course. His tolerance was lower than it used to be, and the hangover was going to be _righteous_ but it almost felt worth it at the moment.

He should have been more worried than he was, given how quickly he’d gone through the bottle, but Qrow couldn’t really find it in him to worry at all. 

The freeing feeling that alcohol gave him was like almost nothing else, and yet Ruby’s look came back to him unbidden, a stab in the chest unexpectedly. Red eyes glanced towards the mostly empty bottle, and he found himself draining it dry.

He’d only bought the one, and he wasn’t up for going to get another. It was probably for the best. But Qrow _did_ wish he was just a little more drunk. It was a little quieter in his mind now than it had been before, so maybe that was good enough.

“… You are an idiot.”

Qrow’s head jerked up suddenly at the sound of Raven’s voice. She was regarding him with a look of irritation. Nothing new there, either. 

“You know when you quit you can’t handle the same amounts anymore,” Her tone was dry. “And alcohol poisoning is a hell of a way to go.”

“Be fine.” His words slurred notably, and her eyes narrowed slightly. It was going to be a long night.


	17. Chapter 17

The destruction of the village continued around Ruby, and all she could _really_ do was watch in horror. How was Ivory able to create these grimm and call them forward? _Why_ was she doing such a thing? The fact that she’d tried to come to terms with the reality that Ivory was _Summer_ only made things worse. The horror that her _mother_ , one of the Huntress’ Ruby had always looked up to, was doing _this_ was killing all these people…

Ruby could hardly stand it. And yet in every match she’d sparred with Ivory, she’d been utterly defeated. At her _best_ she could fight Mercury _or_ Emerald, but both of them, with a sword instead of her preferred weapon made the stakes… not look very good for her.

She couldn’t use her semblance, she couldn’t move fast enough to get away from them.

Snow fell quietly around them, and in some sense it seemed to muffle the sounds of combat, of horror. But the screams were something that Ruby would never forget. The blood, the utter destruction.

There would be nothing left, if Ivory wasn’t stopped, but Ruby didn’t know _how_ to stop her.

A little girl cowered near one of the buildings, trapped in place by a Sabyr getting closer by the second. Ruby acted before she thought, throwing herself between the girl and the beast, drawing her blade to kill it. It was easy to kill, which didn’t surprise her. Sabyrs didn’t generally take much more than Beowolves.

The girl couldn’t have been more than eight. Ruby couldn’t just _let_ her die. She couldn’t. She couldn’t just let this happen. Silver eyes swept over the area as she kept her body physically in front of the child. Emerald was staring at her with a strange look of concentration on her face.

Mercury’s face was unreadable. Behind her the child sobbed quietly. 

Ivory remained several feet away, facing towards the town center as the Grimm continued their destruction. A chill ran through Ruby.

“And this is how you repay my kindness.” Ruby twisted around suddenly to face towards Emerald and Mercury again - but Salem was the one standing before her. Fear rose in Ruby, twisting in her guts. Her fingers remained clenched on the sword’s hilt. “No, this won’t do.”

The words didn’t feel quite right, but the tone and cadence were _exact_. How was she here? She hadn’t come with them… had she?

“Fix this. Kill the child.” The command came sharply, harsh in the biting cold air. “Or I’ll kill her _and_ leave you to freeze, little Rose.”

Ruby faltered for a second, and then shook her head no, just slightly.

“Are you refusing me?”

“I… won’t. I won’t kill her.”

“Do you think this is saving her? Do you think she’ll survive the snow alone here? You’re doing her a _mercy_ , little Rose.”

Another tremble ran through Ruby’s form as she met Salem’s enraged expression. She couldn’t. She couldn’t kill the child, she couldn’t let her die. She couldn’t let it end like this. Ruby didn’t exactly care about the reality that her life was forfeit. The problem was that she didn’t want to leave the girl to suffer, either.

But she couldn’t kill her. She couldn’t. 

Ruby looked down and behind her slightly, looking at the girl again. She didn’t know how Salem had gotten here, and she didn’t know what kind of aura the Grimm Queen might have. And yet… she’d only get one shot at this.

Maybe it was a chance worth taking.

Ruby concentrated on pooling her aura along the blade, and she struck. Her blade plunged through Salem’s form with surprising ease, and then the figure disappeared as if it had never been.

Ruby didn’t have time to process what _exactly_ had happened as in the same instant a burst of ice and wind slammed into her. Ruby slammed back into the wall and knew nothing more.

* * *

The red one that the Goddess had insisted should come today lay on the floor of the airship. Ivory was not particularly impressed with the girl. First she’d interfered with one of the Grimm’s attacks, then she’d drawn her blade against the green one and the dark one.

Ivory had interfered, of course. Throwing her back into the wall had been trivial. The strike had rendered the red one unconscious and had brought half the building down on top of her and the little girl she’d insisted on protecting.

The collapse had probably killed the girl and if it hadn't, the cold certainly would. The dark one had retrieved the red one’s broken form - the Goddess would want her back, of course \- and they had left. 

Ivory had known the red one wasn’t ready to serve the Goddess’ glory. There was still too much reluctance in her heart. She’d learn, of course, she’d be ready, eventually. But Ivory hadn’t had _time_ to get her ready. The Goddess wasn’t normally so impatient. 

It wasn’t Ivory’s place to question her, but she _did_ wonder if this would be helpful or hurtful. It didn’t matter, their task had been completed. The village was gone, and there were no traces of humans causing that destruction. Even the collapsed building would look like a large Grimm had slammed into it, going after the child.

It was good enough. It was enough, because even if the humans suspected that their kind had done this - what would they do about it? Blame bandits, probably. They liked to blame Bandits, because most of them had no idea what the truth was. 

The Goddess knew best, and in a few hours the green one and the dark one would have to tell her what happened. For now though, they flight could continue in silence, and Ivory didn’t have to think about the way looking at the red one for too long made something stir inside of Ivory, just like the blond one had that night on the island village attack.

Ivory pushed those things away, concentrating on the task before her. Returning _home_ , returning to the Goddess with the news of their success - and of the red one’s failure. 


	18. Chapter 18

Qrow had nearly forgotten how terrible hangovers could be, but the bottle from the night before clearly had decided to remind him. His head throbbed and his stomach was more than a little unsettled. 

The urge to bury his head under the pillow and go back to sleep was quite strong, and Qrow started to do just that when he heard a scoffing sound behind him.

 _That_ got him awake and rolling over to face whoever was in his room, reaching for Harbinger, which was… not in range. That made him feel bare.

But his attention settled on Raven, sitting in a chair by the window, regarding him with that _look_ of hers. _Raven_ had stayed with him? He only distantly remembered his bickering with her the night before, and honestly, he’d thought he’d been imagining most of it. Harbinger sat against the wall beside her, it’d _clearly_ been moved out of his reach intentionally.

“Drink the water.” Her tone was more commanding than politely suggesting. “And then meet me in the medical ward. Taiyang’s awake.”

She left then, not bothering to say anything more to him or give him time to _respond_. 

Qrow’s attention drifted to the side table she’d indicated, and there was indeed a bottle of water waiting for him, along with a bottle of painkillers that he was pretty sure had been in his bathroom. Well, it worked.

He took two of the pills and downed the water bottle - it didn’t fix everything but he felt a little more human after getting through that part. Qrow spent a few more minutes putting himself together - changing into clean clothes and running a brush through his hair. Nothing would really erase the obvious signs that he’d been drinking the night before, but at least he looked… more put together than he had to start with.

The walk down to the medical ward was one he hadn’t had to make too many times - and he hoped this didn’t become a trend. He _liked_ not spending a lot of time at anyone’s bedside.

The nurse that saw him first frowned for a second. “Xiao Long, right?”

“Yeah.” 

She gave him directions to the correct door and left him alone. Qrow stopped outside of the door for a moment, hesitant. Eventually he turned the handle and stepped inside. Raven stood there against the wall near the door, but Yang was sitting beside the bed, talking with Taiyang. 

Taiyang looked up first, smile widening slightly as he saw Qrow. One hand reached out towards Qrow, an obvious invitation. He hesitated for a moment before approaching and standing on the opposite side of the bed from Yang. 

“It’s good to see you’re okay.” Qrow said quietly.

“Of course I’m okay. I always am.” Tai offered a slight smirk.

Qrow’s gaze dropped, and he shook his head. “You’re not _invincible_ Tai.” 

Taiyang sighed this time. “Okay, well,” There was a pause in which the blond seemed to try to find the right words, “I’m sorry for scaring you, but I really am okay.… And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Qrow knew that, that was _probably_ the worst part. “I wish you wouldn’t.”

They both knew it wouldn’t stop Taiyang from doing it again though, and so neither of them said anything more on that topic. 

* * *

“It’s not the end of the world.” Taiyang said calmly, his tone reasonable. They were alone, Yang had finally gone to check on how Blake and Weiss were after resting, and Raven had seen fit to disappear. She did that - but since she’d spent the night in his room, apparently, Qrow wasn’t terribly shocked. “So you slipped up. It’s fine. These things happen.”

Qrow looked away, feeling immediately like Tai was being too kind.

“Last night was… hellish. It’s not surprising.” 

Shit, the last few _weeks_ had been hellish. 

“You say that like we haven’t been under strain for weeks.”

“That’s… kind of my point.” Tai said with a short laugh. “Eventually, something’s got to give. So you slipped up. What are you going to do now?”

That… was the question, wasn’t it?

“I…” Qrow trailed off, looking away. “I’ll try again.” He couldn’t give up now, he’d come this far. And he wouldn’t have to go through the _withdrawals_ again, he just had to deal with the cravings. It was hard.

Maybe it would always be hard. But he wasn’t alone, and he couldn’t let Tai and Ruby and Yang down now. He couldn’t let any of them down.

“See,” Taiyang said it gently with a smile. “It’s not the end of the world. You can pick up and we can go forward again. It’s okay. Recovery isn’t a straight line. Isn’t that what you told me?”

Qrow had said that, hadn’t he, at some point in the depths of Taiyang’s depression when it was all the blond could do to go to work and _barely_ exist.

Qrow laughed slightly, but nodded. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“It applies here, too.” 

Maybe it did. It didn’t feel like enough, but maybe this was the best he could do. And maybe that wasn’t the end of the world, like Taiyang said. As long as he kept trying. 

* * *

Recovery was a slow process. The wall was _partially_ repaired, and the civilians were returned to their homes in Mantle, once the Grimm were cleared out of the city. It wasn’t enough, but it was the best they could do. It would take much longer for everyone to be fully _comfortable_ in the city after what had happened. 

And of course, the process of repairing the wall was a lengthy one itself. Especially with the sheer amount of damage that the Wyvern had done to it. It put the Amity project on the back-burner, but they’d all agreed that it was the right thing, as unpleasant as it was.

The civilians had to be taken care of first, or they were playing into Salem’s hands. Dividing them, making them hurt and upset and scared. 

They’d been with communications down for too long already, but Mantle being destroyed was unacceptable as far as risks went. So, for now, this was the best they could do. 

Qrow didn’t necessarily think it was _good enough,_ but there was not a lot that he could do to change it, either. 

Ruby was still gone, and they still didn’t have the faintest idea of where to _begin_ when it came to seeking her out. They didn’t know exactly where Salem was hiding; they didn’t know if Ruby was still alive. It wasn’t… great. 

His stumble had made it that much harder to get sober again, because nothing _terrible_ had happened. Because the whispers in his mind said it didn’t matter. But he’d told Taiyang he was going to keep trying, and he couldn’t go back on that now. He _wouldn’t_ go back on it now.

“You sure you’re up for this?” His attention turned to Taiyang, who had only just been released. 

“We’re just taking a walk across the academy.” Taiyang said dryly. “I’ll be fine.” Firm, but calm. “I want to hear how things are going, anyway.”

“I just don’t want you to exhaust yourself.” 

“This sounded important.” 

It had, unfortunately. Admittedly, that was part of what Qrow didn’t really _want_ Taiyang there, not while he was still healing. But there wasn’t a lot for it. Eventually they made it to James’ office, and he gestured for them both to sit. Obviously they were still waiting for some of the others.

Eventually Clover and Yang made an appearance, they too were advised to have a seat.

James looked tired, Qrow thought, not for the first time. 

James sat back in his chair quietly, gaze sweeping across the group that was present. “It seems there was another village destroyed in the same vein as the one Miss Rose found during the mission she didn’t return from.”

“Grimm destroy villages all the time, James.” Qrow said it quietly, when silence fell between them. 

“There was one survivor. A young girl, and the story she tells is… _interesting.”_ There was another short pause while James gathered his thoughts. “She described a figure dressed in white entering the village and a thick fog suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Then, the grimm materialized from it.”

“Just like Patch.”

James nodded slightly at Taiyang. “The girl also described Ruby Rose down to her eye color and swore she was trying to protect her from the grimm before something suddenly threw her backward. The girl doesn’t remember anything else. She was found under a half collapsed building.” He let out a long, slow breath. “I normally wouldn’t put much stock into a story told by a girl who can’t be older than seven, but some of those details… it’s unlikely she just made them up.”

“So that means Ruby’s alive?” Yang said, voice rising just slightly.

“So it would seem.” James responded more calmly. “But it also confirms that the white figure and Ruby are being held in the same location wherever that is.”

“Which means the white figure is likely working for Salem.” Qrow finished, tone grim. Raven and Taiyang had indicated that the figure in white looked like Summer. 

“What I don’t understand is why Salem would have sent Ruby _out_ with the figure in white.”

“Perhaps a test. Perhaps a trap. It’s hard to say.” James admitted quietly. “All I know is that this is something we’re going to have to keep in mind.”

“And we need to figure out how to stop the figure in white.” Clover added carefully. “We can’t allow villages to keep being destroyed.”

“No. We can’t.” But that meant thinning out their already strained forces even more. They were running out of good options here. And the clock was still ticking to find Ruby before it was too late. At least they now knew it was still ticking, and that it wasn’t already too late. 


	19. Chapter 19

Ruby awoke back in her cell. For a moment she wondered if the attack had been a dream, but she dismissed it - realizing it must have been reality - as she realized _just_ how much pain she was in. 

A few moments away from the situation told her that she’d stabbed nothing more than an illusion of Emerald’s. Why she hadn’t realized that in the moment, Ruby wasn’t sure, but she’d chalk it up to the intensity of the situation. 

Ruby sat up slowly, stretching out the bruised muscles in her back carefully. What had happened to the girl? There was no way for Ruby to know for sure, but it hung in the back of her mind. Had she saved her? Had the girl died there? It didn’t matter, there was nothing Ruby could do for her now. But not knowing would haunt her for quite some time.

What was Salem going to do to her _now_? The question sent a shiver down Ruby’s spine. 

“You disappoint me.”

Ruby spun, turning to face the doorway, to face Salem. There was a dark, twisting fury in those eyes. Ruby shrank into herself, but didn’t move.

“You repaid my kindness by interfering with the mission. I have urgent matters to attend to but rest assured, little Rose, your betrayal will not be forgotten.”

Salem turned on her heel and walked away. Ruby wondered then, perhaps more than ever, why she had been left _alive_. What did Salem want with her that required she be left alive? The threat had clearly been a false one - but why? 

Why was she important? It wasn’t that Ruby didn’t _want_ to survive, but she didn’t understand how she was supposed to fit in. And she didn’t understand why Salem insisted on keeping her around despite her actions.

“I don’t… I don’t understand what she _wants_.” Ruby said quietly, mostly to herself, but she heard Ozpin sigh on the other side of the wall.

“To cause panic and discord. To hurt as many people as she can.” Ozpin sounded quietly resigned, and Ruby wondered what he’d been about to say before changing his mind. “It’s better that you _don’t_ understand her, Ruby.”

Was it?

“As for what she wants with you in particular… I couldn’t say.”

That wasn’t particularly comforting. “I didn’t figure.” No, not really. As much as Ruby wanted the answer, she knew that Salem was likely the only who _could_ answer, and honestly she also knew that there was no way she’d get one from the Grimm Queen. 

“What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Ruby’s tone was skittish, but she was sure of that response.

She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to talk about what she’d done and hear that it was a bad idea. Or talk about how she’d failed. There was no point in talking about it, it didn’t mean anything, anyway.

The little girl had probably died anyway, and she’d risked everything to save a life she hadn’t been able to save. Ruby had known in the moment that she probably couldn’t save her, and she’d done it, anyway. It had been worth _trying_. 

Pyrrha would have tried. Pyrrha would have kept her head up as she looked Salem in the eyes, rather than cowering into herself. 

Ruby wasn’t as good as Pyrrha. Sometimes she thought it should have been her that died that night on the tower, and not the polarity wielder. _That_ was something she thought she would keep to herself too.

“I tried to save a little girl. We were sent to a village. Ivory was set to destroying it. I stepped between Grimm and a child. I don’t know why I did it. She died there anyway.” The words came forward despite Ruby’s initial intent to say nothing at all. Maybe it wasn’t surprising that the words had come forward more or less on their own.

“Because that’s the kind of huntress you are, Ruby.” Ozpin said it simply, calmly. “You had to try.”

“Emerald called up this illusion of Salem and tried to make me kill the girl. I… I attacked the Illusion, instead.”

Ruby didn’t know why she told him that, despite saying she didn’t want to talk about it. The words seemed to flow forward, anyway. She wasn’t ever good at lying or keeping secrets. 

Ozpin didn’t say anything to that. Ruby figured it was _probably_ because she had done something so foolish. There wasn’t much he could say - she’d already figured out it was a bad idea. Ruby sighed quietly as she leaned back against the wall of the cell.

* * *

“She’s more trouble than she’s worth after all.” Salem said thoughtfully, eyes on Ivory. “Kill her if you cannot break her. You have two weeks.”

Ivory didn’t know why that order sat wrong with her. She didn’t argue even so, nodding mutely instead - almost mechanically. That was what she did. She followed orders. She didn’t have opinions. _Why_ did the thought of killing the red one bother her? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t killed dozens - hundreds, even - of others, it wasn’t as if her orders wouldn’t eventually see her killing dozens more at least. 

Why was this one girl a problem? She wasn’t; it was that simple. She couldn’t be.

The Goddess had given her two weeks. Chances were the girl would not properly yield within that time frame. But Ivory would _try_. 

If Salem had noticed her hesitance, she didn’t comment on it. Offering her a small smile. “I know you won’t let me down, Ivory.”

Of course she wouldn’t. Pleasing the Goddess was the only thing that mattered.

Salem left her alone then, and Ivory sank down on the edge of her bed. She’d been moved out of the cells below after her last string of missions. A thank you, the Goddess had said, for a job well done. 

Ivory didn’t know why _now_. She’d been doing missions for the Goddess for as long as she could remember.… Was it strange that she didn’t remember a time before? The thought made the black collar around her throat tighten almost uncomfortably.

Ivory dismissed the train of thought. It didn’t _really_ matter that she couldn’t remember how she had come to be with the Goddess. The Lady was kind and took care of her.   
Ivory would _not_ disappoint the Goddess.

* * *

These sparring sessions with Ivory had been much, much harder since they’d come back from the mission that Ruby had tagged along for. Ivory tended to strike at her hard and fast and drive her until she hit the ground. The figure in white hardly waited for her to stand again before the sessions continued at full force. 

Ruby _was_ learning to recover her feet more quickly in the wake of not having a choice. It was like training with Uncle Qrow, pushing her to be her absolute best. Except, the figure in white had little regard for her safety in the process.

Several times Ruby panicked and attempted to use her semblance to buy herself space. And each time she slammed into the stone floor as she more-or-less attempted to leave behind the grimm limb that her Aura couldn’t enter while the rest of her body tried to burst forward or upward.

This time was different, somehow. Ruby wasn’t initially sure how. Ivory stayed on the far side of the circular training chamber and her eyes glowed as a silver mist began to fill the space, just as it had during the attack on the village. And then Grimm began to form in the mist.

Ruby fought them off as best as she could, slicing through them rapidly and holding her ground as steadily as she could manage. She had no time to approach Ivory, and Ivory made no attempt to approach her, instead sending more and more grimm at her.

Ruby wore herself down on them, finding her stamina running short. It was like that dream of her in the snow on Patch, except this time… this time it wasn’t a dream.

Ruby managed to push herself closer to the figure in white, still fighting off beowolves and sabyr as they rose through the mist. But she made it to where she was _almost_ in striking range, and then an alpha materialized and slammed into her. Ruby hit the ground again.

And this time, a vibrant silver light burst forward from Ruby. The grimm were shattered, and the white figure stumbled back, clutching for a second at the black collar at her throat, which then vanished. 

“I didn’t- I didn’t mean-” There was a searing pain in her leg, indicating that she had perhaps damaged _herself_ in the blast. Her limb _was_ grimm, after all, loathe though Ruby was to think about it now. 

She found herself being half dragged to her feet - pain seared up all the way to her thigh on her left side. Yep, definitely did something wrong. There wasn’t time to start to figure out how to work around it before the specter in white dragged her back to the cell she stayed in and left her there.

Ruby curled in on herself and tried to wait out the pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soon!!!


	20. Chapter 20

No one had come for some time, though the passage of time was difficult to track in her cell. Ruby wasn’t sure if it just hadn’t been _long enough_ for someone to come back, or if there really was a longer stretch than usual with nothing. Even her conversations with Ozpin had been short to almost non-existent since what happened in the training room with Ivory. 

The activation of her eyes had definitely done something to the grimm portion of her leg. There was visible damage to the leathery black skin, but more than that, there were angry red streaks that appeared around where it attached to the human portion of her thigh.

Ruby had learned enough first aid to know those red streaks were very dangerous, especially when they were coupled with the fact that the skin was warm to the touch, and she occasionally had chills. 

Without medical care, such signs were likely to lead to her death. Ruby wasn’t _ready_ to face that reality, but she still hadn’t managed to find a way out of her cell. She didn’t tell Ozpin, either. There was no need to burden him with the knowledge when he couldn’t help from his cell.

“Come on, we don’t have much time.” Ruby jerked her head upward at the familiar-but-not voice at the entrance to her cell, confusion crossing her face. 

Ivory - Summer - stood there in the same white outfit that covered her from head to toe. The hood was arranged to that Ruby could see her face better than before. She’d always known how similar to her mother she looked, but in that moment, it was like looking into a mirror - if that mirror _also_ showed her what she might look like in a few decades.

“Ruby, please.”

The girl realized then, as Summer spoke again, that she had unconsciously drawn back further into her cell, until she had almost reached the far wall. She used that to her advantage, using the wall as leverage to make it to her feet. The unnatural replacement didn’t hold her weight properly, and she stumbled slightly before regaining her footing.

“What now?” Ruby found herself asking. She hadn’t heard Ivory speak the whole time she’d been here, it was a little eerie to hear it now.

“There isn’t much time, we have to get out of here. Before Salem realizes something is wrong.”

Ruby wasn’t sure what to think of the statement. Confusion warred with her desire to get out of this place. She took a hesitant step towards Summer, “I don’t want to leave Ozpin here.”

“Of course not.” From the tone of Summer’s voice, Ruby realized that the huntress had never planned such a thing.

She wasn’t sure if she trusted the woman. This _was_ the person who had brutally destroyed that village on Solitas. This was the person who had sparred with her so rigorously as to make it feel as if she was going to be killed if she made one wrong move.

On the other hand, if she meant it, and really was trying to get them out of here, then this could be Ruby’s only chance. Could it really be worse than waiting here for Salem to decide to kill her, or the infection to set in badly enough her body couldn’t fight it off anymore? She didn’t think it really could be. Death in an attempt to find freedom felt less hollow than just _waiting_ for it.

She stepped forward, carefully. Her steps were shaky, but for now the limb held her. Ruby hoped that would remain the case throughout whatever the white-clad woman had planned for their escape.

Once she was in the hall that ran along the cells, Summer turned towards Ozpin’s cell and opened it as well. The headmaster joined them in the hall with little argument, though he regarded Summer with some curiosity.

“How do you plan to get us out of here, Summer?” It was a good question, one Ruby hadn’t bothered to ask in her consideration of the situation.

“There’s an airship. If we can reach the airship, we can make it out of here.” That sounded simple enough, but things often _sounded_ simple while still managing to be quite complicated at the same time. Getting from Argus to Atlas topped the list in Ruby’s mind, at least at the moment. 

“This way.” Summer took the lead, and all Ruby could do was hope she’d be able to keep up without slowing them down. “Stay close to me.”

* * *

Ozpin was watching her, and Ruby thought that he’d noticed she was having trouble keeping up with him and Summer. She thought he’d deliberately slowed down to force Summer to be mindful of it without saying anything.

It was hard for Ruby to be sure what he knew and what he didn’t. Ozpin was… like that, sometimes. He always knew more than he said, Ruby had figured that out while she was still at Beacon, and he’d always been good at picking up the difference between someone at their limits, and someone who simply wasn’t trying.

She supposed it was an important mark of a teacher who’d been in the field as long as he had. 

Despite his efforts to hold the pace down to something Ruby could match, she stumbled and fell on the broken ground as they crossed the terrain dotted with purple dust. 

“I don’t think-”

“It’s just a little farther.” Summer said in a low voice as she reached out to help Ruby back up onto her feet. There was an unspoken _don’t give up yet_ that might have been comforting under other circumstances. As it was, Ruby was still conflicted about what _exactly_ had happened and why Summer suddenly had such a sharp change of heart. 

The trio made it to the airship, carefully evading the grimm that were present in the area without a fight. Summer had insisted that fighting them would draw Salem’s attention, which of course was the last thing they wanted.

Ruby wasn’t sure she believed Summer, but there was some logic in the refusal to get drawn into a fight they didn’t have to. 

Summer and Ozpin sat in the pair of seats at the control panel of the airship, leaving Ruby to sit in one of the seats along the side wall. It was a relief to be _sitting_ because it meant she didn’t have to put weight on the damaged limb.

And she was close enough to hear the quiet exchange of their words. Ruby trusted Ozpin, at least, but she listened closely, anyway. There wasn’t much to it, mostly they discussed the best choice of where to go and how to evade Salem. 

Ruby made a quiet noise, as if to remind them of her presence, but waited for acknowledgement. “Your team, they’re in Atlas, aren’t they?”

“Yes.” Ruby confirmed. “So is Uncle Qrow. We’ll have to field security on approach before the fleet will let us land, but I think General Ironwood will listen.” At least enough to allow them to make a landing with a security team meeting them in the landing bay. At least, Ruby _hoped_ because if not, she was completely out of ideas.

* * *

“Miss Xiao Long.”

“General Ironwood.” The blond didn’t completely turn to face him, despite acknowledging his presence. Her attention remained focused on the training dummy that she’d been sparring with in a vain attempt to burn off nervous energy. “This is my sign I’ve been here too long, isn’t it?”

“Something like that.” There was a hint of what might have been amusement, but mostly sympathy. 

“I meant to thank you. For… everything, after Beacon.” It was easier to say _that_ than it was to explicitly thank him for the prosthetic that had opened the path to her continuing to be a Huntress, as she had chosen to do. But it felt appropriate that she thank him and now seemed like as good a time as any.

“You didn’t need to thank me. It was the least I could do.” Was what the General said. “But you’re welcome.” 

* * *

“Did you ever tell Ruby or Yang?”

Qrow shook his head. “I meant to. I should have after Haven but it never seemed like the right time with everything else going on.”

“You agreed it was time for her to know, Qrow.” Taiyang sounded disapproving, arms crossed. 

“I did.” Qrow acknowledged. “And then Beacon fell, and I was nearly downed by poison-”

“And the aftermath of realizing that you might have died without her ever knowing the truth didn’t make you think, maybe there wouldn’t be a good time and that you needed to just _tell her_?”

Qrow sighed. “It just seemed like a really cruel thing to drop in her lap with everything else she was already processing. I wanted to wait until things were steadier. I know that’s… I know it didn’t work out the way it should have.” He knew that; he’d figured it out already. That didn’t mean there was anything he could do about it _now_. 

“It’s just that the longer you let it sit, the harder it’s going to be to tell her the truth. And the harder she and Yang are going to take it because of the way we kept this from them.”

Yang was already on something of a warpath about lies and half-truths, probably at least partially thanks to Raven’s side of the story and Qrow’s side of the story having some very… interesting discrepancies. Things that only Ozpin could probably explain fully, and no one had heard anything from _him_ since the fall of Beacon.

“I wanted to be someone she could be proud to call family, first.” The words were bitter on his tongue, but after what had happened in Haven, after his failure to realize the dangers there. After his failure to protect her and Yang at Beacon. After the _Apathy_ incident when the girls had had to fend almost entirely for themselves in that awful place. 

“… _Qrow_.” There was a level of surprise and disbelief in that tone. And if their relationship hadn’t been so recently on the mend, Qrow could tell from the tone of it that the blond would have smacked him, at least lightly. “You _silly_ bird. You’ve always _been_ part of their family, and they’ve always loved you so much. This isn’t about pride, or worth. It simply _is_. You’ve always been there for them when they needed you the most. They know that.”

It wasn’t that simple, Qrow wanted to say. It had _never_ been that simple, because in the tribe it was prove your worth or be cast out. He’d been fighting his whole life \- and failing - to prove he was worth the space he took up, the resources he used. 

Even every step forward, helping Ozpin, had ended up like _this_. Besides, he _hadn’t_ been there when they needed him the most. He hadn’t protected Yang from getting hurt at Beacon; he hadn’t been able to stop Ruby from being kidnapped.

Before either of them could say anything else, a security alert buzzed both of their phones. _Report to landing bay 3._ The message from Ironwood was clear as could be, but it left more questions than answers. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at [Aerislei's Fics](https://aerisleis-fics.tumblr.com/) \- you're welcome to come chat or send asks or anything!


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